The Strength of a Saiyan
by MonkeyToken
Summary: Currently under reconstruction but please feel free to go ahead and read if you'd like.
1. 01

"Almost got it...and I'm dead." I sighed, putting down my controller before laying down on my bed and checking my phone to see that it was already nine in the afternoon. It's been a couple days since I turned sixteen, summer vacation had started and so far I've done nothing but exercise, read, draw, watch television, and play video games. Thing is, it is already growing tiresome to which I just listen to music all day and try to sleep but boredom didn't allow an opportunity for rest.

"Might as well get some water." Most people my age would go out and do stuff meanwhile I'm basically classified as a shut-in by my family. Thing is, I don't really have the ability to go wherever I'd like which sucks, especially since I live far from the city in an area that isn't always safe to go walking around in.

As I made my way to the kitchen, it seemed unusually quiet. I made sure to look out the window and sure enough, there were no cars in the driveway. 'Hmm guess I'm home alone again. Sometimes I wish they would at least tell me where they went. Oh well.' I shrugged. Being the middle of five always left me being the forgotten one at times. My phone rang and I saw that I was being called by a friend.

"Hey faggot."

I smiled. "What do you want Raul?"

"We were wondering why you aren't here yet, you did remember it was today right?" He asked.

"Yeah but I'm home alone. Guess they forgot cause they were supposed to take me two hours ago."

"Man, that sucks."

"Not really, you get used to it after a while. Makes good practice for when I go to college."

"Want us to pick you up?"

"Nah, go enjoy yourselves, I'll be fine."

"Alright but if you change your mind, call us."

"Portarse bien ustedes, no hacen nada mal."

"No promises." He hung up and I sighed.

In the middle of making something to eat, my ears were filled with the sound of a small boom as the house vibrated slightly. "What the?" I looked out the back window and saw a crater. Going outside, I walked towards the crater with hesitation and saw a glowing object at the bottom.

"Uhm ok... What is this?" Slowly walking towards it, the object shined brightly before turning into a short woman with light blueish skin, long white hair and blue eyes.

"Greetings!"

So I could either freak out or remain calm at this point. I chose to remain calm and took a couple breaths which did calm me down. "...what brings you to Earth ma'am?"

"I am the being simply known as Lucy and I'm here to give you an offer."

"What kind of offer exactly?"

"I will bring you to a world that humans and faunus inhabit only with the creatures of grimm being their only threat. Every person has an energy source called aura which they use to defend themselves or against the grimm. Although they survived for generations, I have a dreadful feeling that their peace will be torn apart and chaos will surface, causing their destruction."

"I don't know...If I accept, I am leaving everything I've ever known behind…" In that moment, my thoughts were brought to many months ago when a couple of my friends and I were discussing about being sent to a different world. A few of them said they would, given the opportunity but I never really had an answer for them. Although here I am now with an opportunity to do just that and with the way my life was going, I needed a change of pace. "Alright." I smiled. "I'll do it."

"Thank you." She said then placed her hand on my head. "With my power, I hereby send you to Remnant to be reborn so you can begin your life as it's savior and may you meet many new people along the way."

 ** _Remnant_**

The story cuts to a house in the woods during the night. There was a knock at the door and the person living in the house stopped what they were doing and went to answer it. The door opened to reveal a human woman with short black hair and yellow eyes. She looked around for who knocked, but couldn't find the person. As she was about to back inside, she tapped her foot on something. Looking down she saw a baby with lightly tanned skin and black hair sleeping in a basket with a note attached to it. She grabbed the note and began to read it. "Please take care of him as if he was your own. He is meant for greatness. Also he may be much stronger than you think as he grows." As she finished reading, she picked up the baby with a tail latching itself onto her arm. "Who would leave a child here, especially a faunus." The baby then woke up showing his black eyes to her and giving her a smile.

 _ **Present day**_

Honestly, life on Remnant has been great. What was strange was that the only difference between this world and mine were how politics worked, technology, history, and obviously the grimm. Same art, same musicians, movies, books and yet what I ended up learning as I grew older were two things.

One was around the age of twelve. My mother and I were chopping trees for some firewood and we were ambushed by a beowolf. I froze and she tried protecting me. She got thrown aside by it and it looked at me with purpose, as if I was of importance to it. It jumped at me and in a panic, I thrusted my arms out as a beam shot out, penetrating the beowolf and killing it. I remember looking at my hands and shaking vigorously as I had seen my life flash before my eyes. Days later after that, I attempted to recreate that moment, that need for power but couldn't get it right. Sure enough, it became easier to do so the more times I practiced but I started realizing that maybe I wasn't just a monkey faunus like she told me I was. I felt so idiotic since I would sometimes question why my tail was brown unlike my hair which was black.

The second thing has two parts really. Part one was regaining my memory last year when I turned fifteenth to which I put the pieces together and knew I wasn't reborn as a faunus...I was reborn as a saiyan. This must've been so I could have a better chance at protecting this world. Part two was when I received a note from Lucy saying that she's been watching me grow happily and will be there for me if I called for her. On that note was also something I didn't expect. It said that due to me being reborn, all the memories that everyone I knew on Earth had to be erased. Basically it was made to where I never existed on Earth in the first place. It was very startling but I made the decision to come here and I had accepted the ramifications of my actions. Although, I can't say that it didn't hit me hard when I found out. Soon after, I ended up telling mom my story to which she believed me since I was nowhere near the average faunus due to my eating habits, my strength and she thought something was strange when she sensed that I had no aura when she found me.

I ran down the steps and almost when out the door when I heard mom call out my name. "Idris, where are you going? " She asked from the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen and saw her washing some plates from last night's dinner.

"I was thinking of going to catch some fish for us down by the lake, is that ok?"

"Definitely, that is if you can catch one." She smiled, not registering that a plate slipped out of her hands. I quickly used my tail to grab the plate before it could hit the floor and put it on the rack where the other clean plates were.

"Thanks mom." I kissed her on the cheek before running on out the door. "Well..." I told myself as I made my way towards the lake. "Time to fish." Took me a small while but I got there so I brought out the fishing rod I had with md and hooked some bait onto it before casting my line into the lake. "And now we play the waiting game."

 _ **Three hours later**_

"Hmm so far I've caught only three fish. Not bad if I do say so myself. Certainly better than catching nothing like I usually do." Looking up I see the sun beginning to set. My fun was ended when a gunshot rang through the forest as birds flew out into the sky. Dropping everything, I sprinted back home. After running for a few minutes, I heard a couple of yells in the distance so I hid behind a tree. I peeked my head out of the tree and saw two masked men dressed in a white uniform with a red symbol on the back, surrounding mom who was wounded on the ground.

"This has been quite the fun time we've been having with you my dear, now hand over the child." One of them demanded.

She spat in his face and have a look of anger. "Do your worst."

He sighed, wiping the spit off of him and looked to the guy next to him. "Why can't our jobs ever go easily eh Jax?"

Jax shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know Sid. People are so stubborn these days."

'I have to save her!' I steeled my nerves and walked towards them. "Hey!"

Both looked towards me. "Well, well, well, look who we have here." Sid said.

"You leave her alone right now!"

"Or what?" Jax raised his arms. "You gonna kill us? Do you know who we are? We are the finest that the White Fang has to offer, you have no chance of beating us!" He yelled before kicking my mother in the face.

"Leave her alone!" I ran at him and tried to punch him but was sidestepped then kicked to the ground.

"Don't fight them Idris! Just get out of here!" Mom yelled.

"Oh no you don't." Sid grabbed my tail and held me upside down, draining all of my energy. "You know, did they ever say that they needed the boy alive?"

Jax had a smile on his face. "Who knows? Might as well have a little more fun with him." Sid, still having a grasp on my tail, kneed my stomach then threw me head first into a tree. I grasped my head and looked up to see mom with a very scared look on her face. I tried to get up only to be stomped on.

"Leave my son alo-" She screamed after being stomped on by Jax.

"Just kill her already and let's go Jax!"

"Fine fine." He grabbed his knife and held my mom up by her hair. "Say goodbye to your boy." He stabbed her in her chest, getting her to shriek at the top of her lungs. Something inside me snapped as my power started skyrocketing past normal. Rage flowed through me with my tail flailing madly and I growled. "Ha, still got some fight left in you don't you?" He said.

Jax smiled. "Well they said he was gonna be a bit of trouble but nothing we can't handle."

Sid took out his gun and pointed it at me. "This should put you down for a while."

I spun myself, smacking the gun out of his hand then grabbed his leg. Squeezing it with tremendous force, the bones broke and I heard him yell with great pain then threw him towards the tree. As his back hit the tree, I shot a ki blast at him. Feeling something hit my skin multiple times, I looked back to see Jax with a gun pointed at me. I charged as much energy as I could into my fist before I ran at him. Moving past his fist at the last second, I placed my hand onto his chest and released the pent up energy, obliterating him. Taking a couple deep breaths, it took me a few moments to recognize where I was then walked towards mom. "Hey..." I spoke softly to her and held her head up.

"Hey sweetie, how'd fishing go?" She asked me with blood dripping from her chest and tears forming in her eyes.

"I caught three of them." I smiled as a few tears escaped my eyes and fell down my cheeks. "I'm so sorry for not getting here sooner."

"Don't cry." Mom placed her hand on my face to wipe them away. "Please don't blame yourself. You've become quite strong, promise me that you'll grow even stronger."

I grabbed her hand and held it tight. "I promise."

"Good. I love you and never forget that." She kissed my forehead and closed her eyes before breathing for the last time.

I started shaking her, hoping this was just a joke. "Mom wake up. Please tell me that this isn't happening! No you can't be dead! You just can't be." Getting an idea, I tried to transfer my energy to her but it did nothing. "Why isn't it working!" Clenching my fists, my emotion began taking over again while my ki was becoming increasingly difficult to control. The skies darkened as sparks surrounded my body and with tear-filled eyes I cried out to the heavens, creating a ki powered beacon in the sky. Some time passed and I had wiped my tears from my face after exhausting myself.

I carried her body and walked towards the lake before burying her in the spot that we usually fished at. I patted the ground and stood with a smile. "I'll do you proud." I heard something move from behind me so I turned and all I saw was a note falling to the ground. I picked it up and the words written on it said for me to head to Vale, along with an address. I stuffed the note in my pocket and walked back home. I opened the door and started packing some stuff. After I was finished packing, I set everything down in the living room and sat, grabbing the photo album next to me. By flipping through each page I found a picture of mom and I during my sixth birthday and decided to place the photo in my bag. Taking a deep breath and sighing, I tossed the bag over my shoulder and walked out the door. I looked over to my home for the last time and floated off the ground before flying over to Vale. From my guess, should be a couple days until I get there.


	2. 02

Two days passed and I stopped flying when I heard screams. I looked down at the forest to see if I can spot where it came from but the trees were blocking my sight. In light of that, I attempted to sense for any energy signals. Two showed up but one of them seemed low. I flew over to where the signals were and found an ursa roaring at them. The two people where a girl who seemed a bit younger than I was, and an older man. She was constantly shooting arrows at the ursa which only served to anger it. Descending in front of them, I dropped my bag on the ground, raising my power level and began running towards the ursa. The ursa charged towards me and swung one claw. I held my ground and raised my right arm to block it, countering with an ki charged palm strike that sent it flying through a couple of trees. No sound could be heard from the ursa which meant that it must've perished and disintegrated.

"That was incredible!" I looked back to see the girl smiling my way.

I walked over to the man and wrapped his shoulder over mine. "Thank you for helping us."

"Luckily I arrived when I did." I smiled. "What brought you both all the way out here?"

"We were sent to gather some materials for our village just south of here but then that ursa came and attacked us. That was when you showed up coming down from the air like a superhero and teaching it a lesson!" cheered the young girl with a big smile on her face.

"I would have to agree with my daughter Isa, your entrance and timing felt like something out of a comic book."

"Just doing what I can to help. Any idea how far your village is from here?"

"It's a couple miles ahead." answered Isa.

I wrapped my tail around my bag. "I want you to hold onto me."

"Why?"

"Trust me, you'll enjoy it." Feeling her arms wrap around my neck, I started floating off the ground. The higher I went, the tighter her hold on me got. I picked up some speed and flew over to their village. Once I was closing the distance I raised my power level in caution for what is to come. Mom had warned me that there are humans who mistreat faunus in the world so better safe than sorry. I stopped flying and hovered when I reached their village.

Humans started coming out their homes and gathered around me as I descended to the center area with weapons in their hands. Knives, axes, swords, guns, spears, most of them were armed. "Put your hands up and don't you move a muscle!" commanded an elder human female with a shotgun in her hands. Two women grabbed Isa's father and took him somewhere meanwhile everyone else was just looking at me with some sort of hesitance etched in their faces. Even felt some eyes darted at my tail. With my bag on the ground, I held my hands up and placed them behind my head.

Isa walked in front of me, arms stretched out and looking at everyone. "Don't worry everybody, he is not a part of the White Fang. If he was, he wouldn't have saved us from the ursa that attacked us."

"We can't take any chances Isa since some of our scouts saw that beacon of light from the Evergreen Mountains a couple days back. For all we know, the White Fang could've been testing weapons and he was sent here to use it on us. Only explanation as to why he was flying. We can't trust these damn dirty animals especially this monkey!" A man yelled, holding a the tip of his sword in my face.

"I am not part of the White Fang." I spoke up. "If you don't believe me then check my bag, I have nothing to hide nor do I have any reason to lie to any of you."

The man grabbed my bag and handed it over to the elder woman who started ransacking it, taking out my spare changes of clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste, and the photo of my mother and I. She then began putting everything back in my bag and threw it over to me. "Alright, guess we will give you the benefit of the doubt. Everyone put your weapons down and go back to what you were doing." The elder woman ordered, only holding the shotgun with one hand as the crowd began dispersing. "You, come with me." She turned her back and began walking. I looked at Isa and she motioned for me to follow that woman. I did what I was told and walked.

I ended up following her to what I can assume was her home and she invited me to come inside. She led me to her living room to which she took a seat and she motioned for me to take a seat as well. "Thank you." I nodded, taking a seat across from her.

"I'd like to start with apologizing for the sudden uproar against you."

"It is completely understandable, after all, seeing a flying monkey isn't something that shouldn't be without caution." I smiled.

"Your mother was a human and yet you are a faunus. Are you by chance a half-breed?"

I shook my head. "No, I am a full fledged monkey faunus. I was dropped off at her doorstep when I was a baby, she raised me like I was her own son up in the mountains where apparently some of your people saw that light. A very kind woman who was taken from me by two self proclaimed high ranking White Fang members named Jax and Sid."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"Don't be, only people you should feel sorry for are those two men I murdered for what they have done."

"If you do not mind me asking, how did you come across Nore and Isa?"

"After I had buried my mother, I received a note telling me to go to Vale. I don't know why I was given this but it presented an opportunity to leave because without her, I had no need to stay home. It seemed like the right choice and on the way, I heard the both of them fighting an ursa. Couldn't exactly leave them so I helped them out."

"For that deed I am thankful and grateful that you have been honest with your situation." She smiled.

"Yes well I did say that I have no reason to lie." I got up from my seat, putting my bag over my shoulder. "Now if you would excuse me, I have to go."

"Before you do, how about staying a while longer? I imagine that you've been flying nonstop and haven't had a proper rest since then."

I shook my head. "I think I can manage going the rest of the way but thank you for the offer."

"Then at least allow me the chance to pack you something to eat."

I smiled as my stomach growled. "Well if you insist."

She, with a smile still on her face, got up from her seat and left the room. I stood by the door for a couple moments and she returned with a big tupperware container that she handed to me. I put it in my bag carefully and walked out the door, flaring my ki and shooting off into the sky. Couple miles away from the village, I looked back, thinking that maybe I should've stayed for a while longer but I had more important matters in hand. A few more days passed and I had arrived to the borders of Vale. My first thought of Vale was that it was a rather lively city due to all the people that are walking around with a smile on their face. At least, that is how mom described it.

Seems that landing outside of the central part of the kingdom wasn't the best idea since I had arrived at what was probably the sketchy part of the entire area. It didn't look run down or anything but the feeling of wellness was absent in this area. I heard the beat of distorted music and followed it to what seemed like a club. I walked in and it certainly was what I thought it was. The only strange thing was that it looked as if someone came in and destroyed the place. That music was coming from the dj area but the machines looked busted as well which played that distorted music.

"I'm sorry but we are closed due to repairs we have to make." A man with a black beard, white and black suit along with a red tie told me. "Wait, aren't you a little young to be coming here anyways?"

"Oh...sorry but I was hoping if anyone could give me directions, I'm kinda lost." I showed him the note and he told me the exact directions.

"Now get lost kid."

"I was also wondering if I could help you clean this place up."

"Seriously? Yeah, that'd be great." He smiled. "We've been at this all morning and there is still so much more to do."

Couple hours later and I sat down on a stool near the bar, seeing that the place was mess free except for that hole in the wall and the glassless stage. "So what happened here anyways?" I asked the man.

"Eh the same damn blonde came in demanding answers then forced us to fight back. Everytime she comes here, something ends up broken and it's just bad for business. I have a reputation to keep so I can't afford to be closing the place down to fix the place up each time she comes by."

"Hmm well hopefully next time she won't cause as much damage. Thanks for the directions…" I trailed off trying to figure out his name.

"Call me Junior and thanks for helping out." He smiled.

"No problem and my name is Idris." I got up and walked out of the club. Following the directions, I heard the sounds of police sirens going off to which I stopped walking and immediately held my hands up. A cop car parked next to me and I looked to see that an elderly dark male get out of the car.

"Excuse me son, why do you have your hands raised?" He asked me, curious about the answer.

"Seems like the right thing to do whenever you get stopped by a cop." I shrugged. "I mean I'm brown and a faunus so it's easy to put the pieces together."

He smiled and let out a small laugh. "Good point, so what exactly is a young monkey faunus like yourself doing in these parts of Vale?"

I lowered my hands and smiled back. "I was looking for directions and I went into Junior's club, hoping he'd help and in exchange for that, I helped him clean up since someone trashed it again from what he told me."

"Damn, again?" He scoffed. "Where are you from cause I've lived and worked in Vale since I was born but I've never seen you before?"

"I'm from the Evergreen Mountains-"

"The Evergreen Mountains?! Son, that is weeks away and don't tell me that you are here alone."

I nodded. "Yes I am, I walked over here because of this note." I reached into my pocket and handed him the note.

He took some time to read it and had a look of surprise to him. "Well I can take you there if you like? It's an hour walk but should only take a couple of minutes."

"That'd be great, thank you." I smiled, taking back the note and stuffed it back into my pocket. We both entered his car and he drove me to where I needed to be which had a lot of color and people seemed like they enjoyed their lives. He parked in front of a shop and I let myself out. We nodded and waved at each other as he left. I looked through the big windows, seeing that it was a café.

I walked in and was greeted by a kind and pretty brown haired woman with blue eyes in her mid-twenties. "Hello sir, how can I help you?" She asked me with a helpful smile.

"Yes, may I have a cup of french vanilla coffee?"

"Coming right up sir." She wrote it down on her notepad and walked away to the counter.

"Thank you." I returned the smile before she left. After taking my seat, I started thinking about what my next plan would be. 'Maybe I can ask her what kind of work I can do since I am at the legal age to work.' I looked out the window, taking note of every building, car, and person that went by. 'Although what job can I get? I'm not that well suited for many jobs and I don't have any place to stay at. Maybe a job at a bookstore or demolitions would be better for me since physicality is my strong suit.'

"Here you go sir, that'll be five lien please." She said, placing my order on the table.

After handing her the money I decided to pick her brain for some things. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure go ahead."

"I'm new to this kingdom and I was wondering what a sixteen year old like myself can do for a living."

"Well I know of some places that are looking for applicants or, from the way you look, you can sign up for a chance to attend Beacon Academy."

"Beacon?"

"It's a prestigious academy created for the sole purpose to help its students become huntsmen and huntresses to fight the creatures of Grimm and preserve peace within the kingdoms of Remnant." To those who don't know, four kingdoms occupy Remnant, they are known as Vale, Vacuo, Atlas, and Mistral.

"I see, thank you for your help ma'am."

She nodded before leaving. Five minutes later I was approached by a rather tall, and I mean tall, lightly skinned man with tousled silver hair and thin brown eyes who appeared to be in his late forties and is wearing shaded glass spectacles and a dark-green scarf with a small, purple, cross-shaped emblem on it. His outfit mainly consists of an unzipped black suit over a buttoned vest, with a green undershirt. He also wears black trouser shoes and long, dark-green pants.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked.

"No it isn't sir go ahead." I gestured him to sit.

He then sat in the empty seat in front of me before ordering a cup of coffee for himself. After waiting a couple of moments for his order, he decided to speak. "My name is Ozpin, what's yours young man?"

"Idris sir."

"That's a strange name to have in this era and do you have a last name?"

"I...can't remember my last name and is my name really stranger than the names nowadays? Half the people around here have a type of color for a name." I smiled.

"You do prove a point. Now if you don't mind me asking, have you heard of the White Fang?"

I tensed slightly after hearing that name again. "I was raised far from any villages or towns by my mother in the Emerald Mountains. She's only ever spoken of them on rare occasions. She said that they were once good people but other than that, I know nothing of them. Although I don't have to worry much about anyone or anything since nothing comes near us."

"That's strange because there were some reports from a huntsman describing a boy with ground shaking power matching your description killing two men who are supposed to be elite members of the White Fang with ease. You wouldn't happen to know any of this do you? I mean you did say that nobody ever goes and yet, this proves otherwise." He said with a sly smile. "He was also the same one who left you a note that told you to come here. You came much sooner than I expected though."

The jig was up so I sighed. "Ok who are you and what do you want with me?"

"As I said my name is Ozpin. What I didn't tell you is that I'm the headmaster at Beacon Academy."

"Alright, what is it that you require from me sir? Obviously to be able to find my home and send a huntsman there must've taken some time so I'm wondering why the trouble to find me?"

He was about to speak, but was interrupted as the woman from before brought him his order. After paying for it, he began speaking again. "I wanted to extend an invitation to you."

"What kind of invitation?"

"An invitation to my academy. Would you be willing to accept it?"

"I may seem strong, but I have a basic interpretation when it comes to fighting. Unlike your students who most likely have a wide variety of skills under their belts, I'm just a brawler with no proper training. I'd be nothing more than a low class fighter in a place full of elites...Although someone once said that if you work hard enough, even a low class can surpass an elite…" After taking a few moments to think, I just went with it. "I'll gladly accept your offer besides, it'll do me some good to meet people who are around my age."

 _ **Beacon Academy**_

Upon arriving, Ozpin was greeted by a pale skinned woman an inch shorter than him with very light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face. Her eyes are bright green and wears thin ovular glasses. She wears a white long-sleeved blouse, and puffy sleeves that tighten near the wrist before spreading back out near her hands. Her lower body has a black business skirt with buttons running in a vertical line up the front of it and lighter black-brown stockings underneath. She wears black boots with brown heels, and wears a tattered cape that is purple inside and black on the outside, decorated by a row of diamond-shaped brown beads going horizontally across her cape. Above this line of beads appears an emblem of a tiara.

"Good afternoon Ozpin." She said.

"Good afternoon Glynda." He responded.

"Who's this?" She asked while looking behind Ozpin to see me.

"Do you remember the report Qrow gave us?" He asked a question of his own.

She seemed shocked and slightly sad after realizing who I was. "Is this him?"

"Yes he is."

"Ozpin, you do know that if he joins this year, then there would be an uneven amount of students here. This means possibly leaving him without a team."

"Yes I'm well aware of that."

"Excuse me, may I speak my part in this matter?" I asked having both of them turn to look at me. "Whatever the outcome will be, I will gladly take it in stride and do my best. As long as you both have faith in me then I won't fail." Both Ozpin and Glynda seemed pleased with my determination. "Also, is it ok if we continue this conversation at your office?" I suggested.

"Certainly." Ozpin answered.

Apparently his office is located at the top of the clock tower and his ceiling consisted of mostly gears, but the view was certainly amazing as it overlooked the school all the way into the city. "Your office certainly is amazing Ozpin." I complemented.

"Thank you." He said taking a seat at his desk with Glynda standing next to him.

"Who wants go first?" I asked.

Ozpin spoke first. "As I said earlier, you killed two men without hesitation with power exceeding the average person your age and we sense that you have no aura. Care to tell us who you really are?"

They didn't give off any sliver of bad intent within them so I decided to tell. "Give me a moment." Clearing my throat, I began my lengthy explanation. "I am from a world called Earth. Unlike Remnant, there is no faunus or grimm. Its history is written with the blood of those who fought wars and those who created for the sake of humanity. Now as for my side of the story. During the summer after I turned sixteen, I was home alone playing video games and as I went to the kitchen to satisfy my hunger, something crashed into the backyard. Checking it out, I saw a small crystal within the crater that upon grabbing would become a woman with white hair and purple eyes named Lucy. She gave me the chance to be reborn in this world and I accepted her offer and now here I stand before you, a boy belonging to the saiyan race."

"Care to explain what a saiyan actually is?" asked Ms. Goodwitch.

"Saiyans are a race of warriors who thrive in the midst of battle. The only distinction between us and monkey faunus are our brown tails and black hair and eyes. We don't use aura, in fact, we use a more destructive source of power called ki."

"Fascinating, and can you show us this ki?" asked Ozpin. I held out my hand and created a small ki ball. "So you use the energy within your body and exert it out in a physical form that can be concentrated into an attack or possibly a defense depending on the situation."

"And I'm guessing the drawback of having power like that can also be pretty detrimental to the user." added Ms. Goodwitch.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Worst case scenario, I die."

"You say that with such a casual tone, like you aren't worried at all."

"Well the good thing about saiyan bodies is that they are very durable and we have this innate ability to become stronger after each fight, each injury. The closer to death we recover from, the more powerful we become."

"That certainly is something that is rarely heard of but I hope you don't plan on putting yourself to the brink of death each time you want to become stronger."

"No way, I'm gonna get strong through hard work."

Ozpin smiled. "Sorry if I sound rude but I've heard and seen many things in my life, would you mind giving me a full demonstration of your abilities?"

"Of course although how would you like me to do that?"

"Well you claim to be from a warrior race so the most choice decision would be that you spar with someone and I think I know exactly who to have you fight. Glynda, do you mind sparring with him?"

That question from Ozpin caught her by surprise. "Me?"

"Of course, I know you have some work to do but a couple of minutes of your time is all I ask of you?"

"Hmm, fine. Only if it is for a couple of minutes." The three of us then walked out of Ozpin's office and they led me somewhere.

I was led to the middle of a field near Beacon where I started warming up for my first spar with Ms. Goodwitch. Hearing my bones pop from stretching, I sighed in relief. "Nice to see that you are already preparing yourself." I heard her say.

"Well I'm kinda excited, never really had the chance to have a spar with anyone."

"Then let me be the first to tell you again that I am expecting a lot out of you and hoping that you do not waste my time. Saying that you're from a warrior race is just talk unless proven."

"Okay, so how should we start this?"

"Glynda isn't exactly a pushover so it is better that you bring out all the power you have inside you." Ozpin suggested

"As you wish." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly raising my voice, I opened my eyes and clenched my fists, raising my power level. I let out a roar and reached my peak, creating a little gust of wind.

"Ready?" Ms. Goodwitch asked.

"Definitely." I smiled then started running towards her.

She used her wand to levitate rocks and send them in my direction to which I tried moving past them. I slid past the last rock, and shot a finger beam at her riding crop. Seeing it fly out of her hand, I continued running and got close enough to where I tried a jumping kick. Instead of avoiding it, she merely held out her hand as I froze in mid-air. I couldn't budge, not even a little and I saw her keep me this way as she went to grab her crop. She readjusted her glasses and waved her crop up. I was sent high in the air then with a downward swipe of her crop, I rocketed towards the ground. The impact created a little crater and a small cloud of dirt.

I sat up and shook my head. "Dang, that was a real doozy." I smiled as the dust cloud faded away.

"Well you are durable, I'll give you that but let's see if you can handle this." She waved her crop around as I heard the sound of a storm. I looked above me and saw clouds forming. Shards were falling from the clouds and I held my hands out to create a barrier. I didn't have a chance to destroy it so I just waited it out. Although it didn't last for long since I felt the ground below where I stood shake. In that moments, two rock columns appeared next to me and started pelting me with rocks. My barrier was down, letting all the shards through and gaining many cuts in the process. In a last ditch effort, I let out a yell and extended my arms out, creating an explosive wave of energy that cleared the area.

I felt blood dripping from my arms and smiled. "So this is the power of a huntress. Might as well go for broke." I reeled my left hand back, focusing all of my energy into it. Upon completion, I let loose and thrusted my arm out, creating a big beam of energy. Her power level increased as she used her wand to somehow redirect my attack and send it back. I crossed my arms, taking the full brunt of it and falling to my knees.

My ears were ringing badly and my vision was blurry. It felt hard to move as I started getting flashbacks of the tragedy. Mom's screams played back in my head in a loop. I gritted my teeth as I held my head and felt my power level fluctuate. 'Get out of my head!' Her last moments of life and the look she had on her face were visible in my mind. 'Stop please!' Gusts of wind swirled around me and bioelectric energy was going off. "Enough!" Roaring at the top of my lungs, I started powering up like crazy, going higher than I ever could. The ground started cracking as pieces of it rose from the ground along with my aura tripling in size. This went on for a couple moments until I exhausted myself. My strength faded and I collapsed onto my hands and knees with teardrops falling on the ground along with blood. I looked down at the ground and felt myself trembling vigorously. My trembling eased when I felt my body hit the floor and my vision going blurry again. My hearing started going and I blacked out shortly after.


	3. 03

_**Beacon Infirmary**_

"Alright and that does it." said the nurse who finished patching me up. "It was mainly small cuts that won't leave you with any scars and a few bruises, other than that, you should be fine." She smiled, throwing the empty box of bandages away and going back to her desk.

I nodded. "Thank you."

The door opened and it was Ozpin who walked through the door. "Samantha, do you mind giving Idris and I a few moments of privacy?" He asked.

"Of course headmaster." She answered, walking out of the room.

"Guess emotion is a very powerful trigger for saiyans." was the first thing he said to me.

"Loss and anger mostly...that is what led to that outburst of mine."

"Yes, and quite an outburst it was. It felt like you were shaking the entire area around you which does prove to me that you aren't a normal faunus that just tried to sound special."

"What would've happened if I did not prove anything to you?"

"Then I would have had to dismiss you and reject your entry into my academy."

"So that spar was my test?"

"Yes, and you seemed to have passed, even if she did manhandle you."

I sighed and looked at the ground. "I felt so weak against Ms. Goodwitch that it reminded me of when my mother died. Normally I'd brush off a loss since it was a simple spar but the painful memory is still very fresh in my mind that it pushed me over the edge. I'm sorry."

"You have no reason to apologize, we don't expect you to get over what happened to your mother so easily. A tragedy of any kind is hard to let go without it clinging onto to you. Trust me, a man of my age has experience dealing with many forms of tragedy whether it'd be my own or someone else's. All you can hope for is to keep moving forward and using that turmoil inside you as motivation to grow. Yes it will be hard when you are constantly being reminded of your failures but that is what will make you strive to be a better person because of it."

I let out a small laugh. "This conversation feels like you're gonna end up giving me more advice as my time here goes on."

He smiled. "An old fossil like myself has knowledge to spare and it is always best to share it, after all, knowledge is a gift, not a privilege."

"I see, thank you. Where is Ms. Goodwitch?"

"She is prepare some training regimens for you so in the meantime, would you like to meet some of the professors of the academy?"

"Uhh sure, why not." I shrugged my shoulders and stood from the stool. "Can we stop by my dorm room so I can change into something a bit more decent?" I asked him, pointing out the many cuts and tears in my shirt and jeans. He nodded as a response and we left the infirmary to then head over to my dorm. Took a couple minutes but we made it and I walked in. I undressed and changed into a black button up shirt and a dark blue pair of jeans. I stepped out of my room to see Ozpin waiting beside the door. "Mind if I ask who you are introducing me to?"

He started walking and I walked alongside him. "First professor you are going to meet is Peter Port. He like yourself, is a strong individual and whenever he is not teaching, he goes capture grimm in order to pride some hands on lessons."

Moments later we had arrived in Port's classroom where the professor was cleaning a few cages but there was also another professor. He turned around and noticed both of us. "Ah Ozpin, what brings you to my class today and who is that young man with you?" Professor Port here was slightly overweight and rather aged as you can see by his gray hair and mustache, possibly in his mid-fifties. He wears a burgundy suit with gold lining and buttons. His pants he wore were tucked into olive boots like military. The other one was almost as tall as Ozpin, had glasses, messy green hair, a half tucked-in white button up with I think khaki pants and brown shoes.

"This boy I brought with me is Glynda's new trainee and newly registered Beacon Academy student, Idris. Idris, this is Professor Port and Professor Oobleck."

I couldn't tell what expression Professor Port was making but it felt like one of pity. "Glynda is training him? May the gods have mercy on him."

"He actually did quite well in his first spar against her today. Maybe not fighting wise but he has shown extreme durability and only received minor cuts and bruises by the end of it."

"Wait you said today, does that mean that those tremors earlier were because of him?" Oobleck asked, getting a nod from Ozpin. "What kind of semblance allows him to do such a thing?"

"It has nothing to do with a semblance Professor Oobleck." I spoke up, answering his question. "I wasn't born with an aura although what I was born with, was the ability to utilize ki."

"Ki?" Professor Port raised an eyebrow.

"Ki is the life energy within me that I can use to launch energy attacks or simply make myself stronger physically."

Oobleck rubbed his chin, pondering about something. "Interesting, I know I've heard or read somewhere about people that can do that but I can't seem to recall from where. Do you mind giving me some demonstrations sometime in the future for research?" He asked, getting close to my face.

I took a step back to make some space. "Sure, I don't mind although if you just wanna see exactly what I can do with ki, just stop by my training sessions with Ms. Goodwitch."

He nodded and smiled. 'Will do."

 _ **?**_

I opened my eyes only to see myself back at home. Hearing a baby, I walked over to where the noise came from and saw that it was me as a baby making that noise. In front of him was a woman with short black hair and yellow eyes. "You are a strange little creature aren't you?" She said, poking his cheeks and making him laugh. Her voice was familiar although I didn't recognize her whatsoever. "But you aren't that strange to me. Cute is more like it. Now I can't exactly leave you in some town because not many people take kindly to faunus. I hate to imagine what they'd do to a faunus baby."

She turned her back to him and started sifting through the kitchen cabinets and the fridge, pulling out a bunch of fruits. "Thing is, I'm not exactly prepared to feed a baby so I'm just gonna have to whip something up." Instead of giving her time, the baby's stomach growled as he reached for an apple and started eating it to her surprise. "Or you can just do that."

After he finished the apple, he started eating every other fruit in front of him then once all the fruit was gone, he burped. The woman picked him up and sighed. "You are certainly gonna test my wallet the more you grow but...I guess this is something that may turn out better for both of us. And if I'm gonna raise you, I might as well give you a name...How about Idris?" The baby smiled upon hearing the name, getting a smile out of her. "Good thing you like that name because that is all I had."

 _ **?**_

I woke up and saw that I was in my dorm room then smiled, remembering what day it was today. 'Hour and a half until the initiation is supposed to start.' I thought as I checked my phone then got out of bed to shower, brush my teeth, then dress myself in a red tank top, blue jeans, and brown shoes. In the middle of wrapping black wraps on my hands, I heard my stomach grumble. 'I should definitely eat before going.' I looked over to my scarf that was neatly folded on the desk nearby and decided against wearing it so nothing happens to it. I was walking to the cafeteria and saw that it looked somewhat empty, although now that I think about it, the other initiates probably skipped breakfast in order to get ready.

'Score!' Deciding to grab a cup of coffee, a stack of twenty-five pancakes and fifteen eggs, I sat at one of the tables and started eating.

"Hello!" A girl screamed with excitement from behind me.

"Ahh!" The sudden shock caused me to start choking on my food. I chugged my coffee and hit my chest to pass down the food then coughed a good amount of times.

"Nora what are you doing?!" A male voice asked.

"Nothing Ren, ooh look, he has a monkey tail!" Nora pointed.

Looking next to me I see two people, a man and a woman who are most likely a year older than me. The girl named Nora looks to be five-foot one and appears to have pale skin, short orange hair, turquoise eyes.

Her clothing seems to be a mix and match of some sort, with different colors and themes. She wears a collared black vest that ends at her waist. She also wears a white sleeveless top that forms a tiny heart shape between her upper chest and collarbone. She wears fingerless gloves and sports a pink skirt that starts at the waist and ends mid-thigh. Her shoes are a mix of pink and white, displaying her symbol. She also seems to wear some sort of armor that begins in the middle of the shoulder and neck and ends by the waist.

Next to her is the one she called Ren, another pale skinned boy who is five-foot nine with magenta eyes and long black hair styled into a ponytail with a single strand of magenta colored hair. He wears a dark green, diagonally-buttoned, long-sleeved tailcoat that is red on the inside, with black and gold trimming and pink cuffs as well as light-tan pants with black shoes. The trimming goes down the right side of his torso and forms a black collar.

"I'm sorry for what she did." Ren apologized.

"No worries. My name is Idris and it's nice to meet you both." I greeted them with a smile. "Although next time, please just walk up and say hi instead of surprising me while I'm eating ok?"

"Yay I got a new friend!" Nora announced as she began hugging me.

"She can be quite excited at times." Ren smiled.

"I can see that. So are you two prepared for the initiation?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to start smashing stuff and kick butt with Magnhild!" Nora yelled with excitement.

"Magnhild?" I asked, the name catching my attention.

"Magnhild is the name of her weapon. My weapons are sub-machine guns that go by the name Storm Flower." Ren explained.

"Cool, and Nora what kind of weapon is Magnhild?"

She then took out her weapon and showed it to me. "He is a giant hammer that can transform into a grenade launcher."

"That's actually pretty awesome Nora."

"Thanks! What's your weapon?"

"Well I don't really have a weapon, I use my hands to fight and I can do this." I said as I laid out my hand and created a ball of ki for a short time then let it disappear.

Nora gasped showing an excited expression. "That's so awesome! You gotta be really good to fight without a weapon!"

"And from my guess, manipulating energy is your semblance right?" asked Ren.

I looked over to him and nodded. "Yes it is."

"Will all first years please report to the cliffs for the initiation? Thank you." A voice from the intercom announced.

Smiling towards my new friends, I got up from my seat. "Well we should get going. Don't want the people overlooking the initiation to get mad over us being late now do we?"

"No we don't." Ren smiled before the three of us began to go to the cliff.

 _ **Beacon Cliffside**_

One by one, each initiate stood on platforms that have the school logo engraved onto it. "You have trained for years and this initiation will prove if you are truly ready to attend this academy." Ozpin began before gesturing for Ms. Goodwitch to speak.

"Now I know that there have been some rumors about teams, and I'm here to put these rumors to rest. It's been decided that you will all receive teams today. That being said the next person you make eye contact with will be your partner for the remaining four years."

Ozpin continued. "Your objective is to retrieve an artifact north of here, but beware, this forest is swarming with the creatures of grimm so please do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path or you will die." Tapping his cane on a certain area, each platform began launching every student one by one into the forest.

"Well wish me luck!" I told Ozpin and Goodwitch before being launched. The wind was blowing fast and hard and I smiled. 'Man the wind in my face feels good. If I was an average person, I would no doubt be unable to enjoy this feeling. Actually now that I think about it, I would enjoy it regardless, but I'd most likely end up seriously injured.' Swinging on some branches, I slowed my descent and dropped on the ground with a soft thud.

I ran north and heard what seemed to be growls, causing me to stop. Slowly but surely, five beowolves rose from the shrubs and began to surround me. I waited to see who would charge first. Looking to my left I see one pounce towards me. I took hold of its arm, threw him down to the ground and stomped on his head. Two more jumped towards me as I ducked down and uppercutted both of them, sending them sky high. Seeing how there were two more left, I aimed a finger at both of them and shot an energy beam that pierced through their heads. I continued to run north and eventually stumbled upon a clearing in the forest that's occupied by a few stone columns and multiple pedestals made of the same material which displayed the chess pieces.

'So much for being the first one here.' I sighed seeing that some pieces were missing. 'Oh what's this?' I was immediately attracted to a green rook. 'No doubt everyone else already has a partner, I guess that's what we both have in common.' Grabbing the piece, I placed it in my pocket. Scratching my chin, I began to consider my next move. 'Should I wait and see who's left or should I just go back to the cliff? If I go back, I would be bored, but if I stay, there is a chance that something exciting will happen.' I jumped to the top of one of the columns and sat down to see who will appear next to which I eventually dozed off.

 _ **Some time later**_

"Hello~" Someone sang.

Looking down from the column I see two girls looking at me. One is a pale girl two inches taller than me with long curly blond hair and lilac eyes dressed in a tan vest over a yellow shirt with a black crest that resembles a burning heart. She wears a brown belt with a buckle and a small banner. The same logo appears on this banner, except that it's gold. She wears black shorts under her belt, which resembles a pleated skirt in the back and an orange scarf around her neck. She wears brown, knee-high boots with orange socks of different lengths. Her left leg also has a golden, bandana-like object wrapped around the top of her boot. She wears fingerless black gloves underneath her bracelets.

The other one is an olive skinned girl the same height as me with long black hair and a black bow on top. She has amber eyes that are slightly tilted upwards. She wore white shorts, black low-heeled boots and stockings that gradually fade from black to purple as they near her shoes. On her stockings, there are white belladonna flowers. There are black ribbons on both of her arms, and a silver band on her left arm. She's also wearing a black buttoned vest with coattails that exposes part of her midriff.

I jumped down and smiled. "Hello you two, Idris at your service. May I ask what your names are?"

"Yang Xiao Long, nice to meet ya." Yang greeted.

"Blake Belladonna." Blake spoke.

"Why were you sitting on top of that column?" Yang asked me.

"Well Yang, I already got what I needed and instead of going back, decided to stay and to see who else would come along."

"Oh alright." She said before going to pick a piece.

She thought about it for a few seconds until she made up her mind. "How about a cute little pony?" She asked looking towards Blake.

"Sure." Blake rolled her eyes and had a small smile on her face.

"It's called a knight." I muttered.

"This was actually pretty easy." Yang stated.

"Well it's not like this place is any difficulty to find." Blake agreed.

"Ahhhhh!" A voice yelled in the distance.

"A girl is in trouble what do we do?" Yang asked Blake.

Blake couldn't answer as she was looking at something above her.

"Heeaaddss uupp!" Looking up I see a girl with shoulder-length black and red hair, silver eyes and a pale complexion in the air flailing her arms. I started running towards the girl and was able to catch her just as a blonde kid went sailing past us into a tree.

"Ruby?" Yang called out to the girl I saved. Ruby here is rather short possibly five-foot-two and dressed in a black blouse and a skirt with red trimmings.

Underneath her skirt she wore black stockings and ankle-length black and red boots. The cloak she wears is red and is held by cross-shaped pins on her shirt. Around her waist is a belt which holds large cartridges, as well as a magazine pouch. Lastly, on the right side of her belt is a silver rose symbol. "Yang!" Ruby yelled out. Letting her down, she ran to Yang and gave her a big hug. It didn't end there as an explosion went off and an ursa came out of the forest flailing its arms. Another explosion went off behind the ursa and it soon dropped on the floor dead with Nora rolling off of it.

"Aww it's broken." She pouted.

Ren soon appeared next to the ursa trying to catch his breath. "Nora..." He paused to breathe. "please don't ever do that again." His words went unnoticed by Nora as she disappeared from his sight.

"Idris!" Nora ran over to me and hugged me.

"That was an awesome entrance Nora! I'd give it a ten out of ten."

"Thanks!" She said letting go of me.

Ren soon joined us afterwards. "Hey Ren. How'd it go?"

He seemed to be regaining his usual composure. "You know, the usual." He answered.

"Did she just come here riding on an ursa?" Blake asked.

It gets even more exciting as a red haired girl with pale skin came running towards us with a deathstalker behind her. "Jaune!" She called out.

"Pyrrha!" The blond kid with blue eyes called out. He seems to be wearing a white chestplate and shoulder armor. Under the armor, he wears a black hoodie with reddish-orange sleeves, blue pants as well as black shoes and brown wrist-length fingerless gloves, plus a small metal plate on the back.

"Did she just run all the way here with a deathstalker on her tail?" Blake asked much to the rising annoyance of Yang.

"I can't take it anymore! Can everyone just chill out for two seconds before something crazy happens again?!" Yang snapped as her eyes turned from lilac to red and her hair shined a bit as if it was on fire.

Two seconds passed and Ruby decided to add into the inferno that is Yang. "Um Yang." She said pointing up so we can all see a girl as short as Ruby with white hair barely hanging onto a nevermore's talon.

"How could you leave me?!" The girl yelled meanwhile the nevermore screeched.

"I said jump!" said Ruby.

"She's going to fall." Blake stated.

"She'll be fine." Ruby said trying to calm the situation.

"She's falling." Ren said monotonously.

At that point we see Jaune leap from the tree to catch Weiss. "Just dropping in?" He asked in a flirty tone only to realize that they were still too high in the sky. As they were falling, I jumped up and caught them both before landing with a thud. Looking at her I see that she is Ruby's height if not shorter and has icy blue eyes, a pale complexion, and is wearing a pale blue bolero jacket over a similarly colored dress. The sleeves turn blue as they get closer to her wrists. The back displays a snowflake. She wears white heel wedge boots that go mid-calf. Her hair is pulled back in an off-center ponytail, at the base of which is a small tiara that resembles icicles. She also bears a crooked scar down her left eye.

"You should save the pickup lines till after the initiation. Are you two ok?" I asked, letting them down.

"I am now than-" Weiss stopped as she glared at me, well more specifically at my tail that was swinging. She scoffed and turned her head away, continuing to file her nails.

'So that's Weiss Schnee, I thought she'd be a bit nicer.'

With Pyrrha in the background still being chased by the deathstalker, no sooner did the deathstalker decide to smack her over to us but before she landed on the ground, I caught her and the force of the catch was enough to have me slide a bit back. "You ok?" I asked her.

"Yes, thank you for asking." She looked at me with her emerald eyes and smiled as I set her down. She stood up clearly showing that she is much taller...like way taller than me. Then again, I was the same height as Blake.

She's dressed in a light-brown, strapless top split divided vertically with some bronze patterns with an elastic, red miniskirt and brown cut-off sleeves on both arms and is wearing a red ankle-length drapery that appears to be wrapped around her skirt. There is a small circular bronze plate by her right hip connected to a belt. The plate bears a shield and spear symbol and a bronze circlet headpiece above her ear. She also sports a large bronze gorget around her neck, and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her left arm. She has bronze greaves that start below her mid-thigh, continuing downwards into her boots and a pair of cuisses that begin mid-thigh and end slightly above her knees, and a bronze bracer on top of the sleeve on her left arm. Her boots are brown and reach up to mid-calf.

'Why does everyone here except Blake have a pale complexion?' I asked myself.

"Great, now that the gang's all here, we can all die together." Yang commented sarcastically.

"Not if I can help it!" said Ruby, charging at the deathstalker with her weapon in hand.

"Ruby wait!" Yang's plea fell on deaf ears since Ruby was rapidly approaching the deathstalker and fired the sniper portion of her scythe to gain more speed, only to be swatted away by its claw.

"D-Don't worry, totally fine." Ruby fired a shot at the deathstalker's face before running away.

"Come on Yang, we have to go after her." I said as we started running towards Ruby only to have the nevermore come back and shoot some of its feathers towards the ground, getting Ruby by her cloak and narrowly missing Yang while I kept on going.

"Ruby get out of there!" Yang yelled with concern.

"I'm trying!" Ruby tried removing the feather before closing her eyes as the deathstalker was about to hit her with his stinger.

Catching it last minute, I looked at Ruby. "You ok?"

She opened her eyes to see me holding onto the stinger of the deathstalker...barely. "Yeah thanks to you."

"Now I need you and the others to grab your pieces and leave this to me." I suggested, pushing the stinger back and kicking the feather off her cloak. "I can handle this, don't worry." Taking my words into consideration, she began running towards the others as they got their pieces and headed towards the cliff.

I stared down the deathstalker and charged energy into my hand. "I've faced multiple grimm with Port but I have yet to face one like you." Blasting the stinger, it screeched in pain before stampeding towards me with its pincers flailing around. I jumped to the side, letting it run past me and extended my finger to shoot a small energy beam to each leg, crippling its movement. It let out a massive screech as I ran towards it and jumped with my hands connected together, smacking down on it and sending its head into the ground hard. I threw another punch that went through the armor and into the skull, turning the inside into mush. Jumping off of it, I saw that it disappeared soon after. I was prepared to join up with everyone but stopped due to the ground rumbling. Sure enough, I was confronted by an armored ursa that was twice the size of a regular ursa. We both stood in a standstill in order to see who'd attack first for a couple of moments. I started by shooting an energy beam at its chest only for it to bounce off of the armor plating. Resorting to physical attacks, I ran towards it as it swung its arm at me but I slid under it and gave it one hell of an uppercut then an open palm strike to the ribs.

The two hits had no effect as it merely shook its head and roared at me then slammed me down. I rolled to avoid being stomped then was grabbed with its claws that started to sink into my left arm. Gritting my teeth, I used my free arm to punch it in the eye and took the opportunity to escape its grip. I brought out all of my energy and flared it. "Now you're really gonna get it!" We charged at each other and I blocked both of its arms. I forcefully pushed its arms back and gave it a fully powered gut punch that broke through its armor and pierced through. Opening my hand from the inside, I let out a blast that destroyed the ursa from the inside. It disintegrating slowly as I tried to catch my breath meanwhile seeing blood running down my arm. "Damn...right, pinche oso." I smiled, tearing off my sleeve and wrapping it tightly on the wound. "And it will only get harder from here." I headed the same direction that the others went and eventually found the cliff but with a massive chasm between. Walking back, I slapped my cheeks to psyche myself up and took a deep breath. I utilized whatever energy I had left and ran for it then stomped my foot on the ground and jumped high into the air, grabbing onto the cliffside before making my way up.

I made it to the top to see everyone standing there with Nora running up to hug me. "Idris that was so epic! How'd you do that?! Better yet can you show me how you were able to do that?!"

"Wait what?"

"You see..." Ruby spoke. "after we grabbed our pieces and left, we ended up fighting the nevermore from earlier. Then after we joined Professor Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch, they showed us footage of your fight. It was pretty epic."

"That being said, we have to go announce the results of the initiation, that is, after you get your wound properly nursed." Ozpin said and started leading us back to the academy.


	4. 04

_**Auditorium**_

Everyone was gathered here ranging from professors to older students for the creation of the first year teams. Some have already been introduced and only three were left.

"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrash, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark. You will now be known as Team Cardinal (CRDL) led by Cardin Winchester." They got off the stage as Ozpin announced the next team.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren. You four obtained the white rooks and will join to create Team Juniper (JNPR) led by Jaune Arc." Jaune looked shocked at his sudden role as leader. Pyrrha gave him a playful push on the shoulder, but Jaune was too distracted by what Ozpin said and ended up stumbling to the ground.

Time for the last team. "Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long. You four retrieved the white knight pieces and will form Team Ruby (RWBY) led by Ruby Rose." Now this certainly was a surprise to me. Yang gave Ruby a big hug, Blake gave a nod of acceptance, and Weiss however, looked kinda pissed. Thankfully it went unnoticed which just leaves me and my green rook piece.

"For everyone here, I'd like to tell you that there is one more student left, one that I hand-picked myself to attend this school and learn amongst the best. Can this student please come up to the stage?" Showtime. Walking up to the stage, I could feel everyone staring which made me a bit uncomfortable as well as the comments that I could hear. He turned towards me. "Please introduce yourself."

"Hello everyone, my name is Idris...I don't really have a last name...So I am a monkey faunus that was born far outside the kingdom of Vale up int the Emerald mountains. It's my first time being in the same room with so many people or being far from home so please bear with me if I seem a bit shy…" I smiled nervously for a few moments. "From what the headmaster told me, every student was allowed to watch the initiation meaning that those who watched, know what I am capable of although honestly I'm still far below everyone in regards of combat experience and proper schooling. So in order to push myself even harder, I choose to be in a team consisting of myself only. Other than that I hope that we all get to know each other someday. Thank you for your time."

 _ **Morning**_

Shutting the alarm off, I felt energized for today. I put on my scarf and got dressed in the Beacon uniform which is a black suit with a gold lining and a red tie although I left behind the blazer portion of the uniform. I checked the schedule to see that my first class starts at nine and it is Grimm Studies taught by Professor Port.

"Hmm I only have two hours till class starts. Might as well eat then see what Port is up to." I have gotten to know all the professors in the time I spent here before the school year began and by all I only mean Port and Oobleck. I've even trusted them with my secret upon receiving confirmation that they won't tell anyone. They've also granted me the privilege of calling them by their first name, that is whenever there are no other students around.

 _ **Port's class 8:00 am**_

"Hey Port, how've you been!" I greeted entering the room that looks like those you would find in a regular college.

"Idris my boy! What brings you to my classroom this early?"

"Well I came to see you as my first class is with you."

"Splendid!" He cheered. "From what I saw during the initiation, we are bound to have many bright students this year. Plus what you did against that ursa was nothing more than spectacular since it usually takes a team to take down a beast of that size. That training with Glynda has done wonders for you."

"Care to tell anymore of those stories of yours from your glory days?"

"As much as I would love to do so, I can't. It'd be best to save these stories for the rest of the students."

"Oh well. Anyways, what happened to those grimm we caught a few days back?" I asked curiously.

"I have them locked up in a couple of cages in the storage room and plan to use some during class like those boarbatusk." He said pointed to some of the cages that have a giant cover over them.

I couldn't help but wonder. "How do you plan on doing that?"

I swear he had a mischievous smirk, but I couldn't tell because of his mustache covering his mouth. "I plan on using their desire to prove themselves and have them battle against it during class."

"You sir...are a genius." At this moment students started walking into the classroom except for team RWBY and JNPR. It wasn't until the bell was about to ring that they all crashed through the door. Once everyone got to their seat, class began.

"Monsters, demons, prowlers of the night." Port began. "Yes, the creatures of grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey haha!" It's weird how no one seemed remotely interested in his jokes or even his gut that occasionally jiggles.

"Uhh and you shall too upon graduating from this prestigious academy." He now began pacing back and forth with his right arm behind his back. "Now as I was saying, Vale, as well as the other three kingdoms are safe havens in an otherwise treacherous world. Our planet is absolutely teeming with creatures that would love nothing than to tear you to pieces. And that's where we come in. Huntsman, huntresses..." He winked towards Yang as she now looked slightly uncomfortable. "Individuals who have sworn to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

Stopping in front of his desk, he continued. "From what you ask? Why, the very world!" He said as a student yelled out in agreement, but soon sat feeling embarrassed as he was the only one to do so.

"That is what you are training to become, but first a story. A tale of a young handsome man. Me." I've already heard this story before so I decided to draw the layouts of the grimm creatures that he had hung up on the wall behind his desk in case I ever run into more grimm in the future.

A half an hour or so passed. 'Little of this...a little of that...and...done.' I finished the last sketch and looked up to see that Port was done with telling his story.

"The moral of the story, a true huntsman must be honorable, a true huntsman must be dependable, a true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise. So who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

"I do sir!" Weiss raised her hand.

"Well then let's find out. Step forward and face your opponent." He motioned to the cage with the boarbatusk that we caught.

As we waited for Weiss to change out of her uniform in the locker room to put on her gear, I walked up to Port. "Hey Port, may I have the honor of releasing the boarbatusk?" I whispered.

"Sure." He whispered back. After Weiss came back and prepared her stance, I walked to the cage.

"Go Weiss!" Yang cheered.

"Fight well!" Blake was waving a small flag with the team name on it.

"Yeah, represent Team RWBY!" Ruby raised her fists in the air.

"Ruby, I'm trying to focus." Weiss scolded Ruby.

"May the fight begin!" Opening the cage, the boarbatusk bursted through and charged towards Weiss as she rolled out of the way.

"Haha weren't expecting that were you!" Port boasted.

"Hang in there Weiss." Ruby said supportingly. After a brief stare, both combatants charged at one another. Weiss ended up piercing through one of its tusks as they struggled in a clash of power.

"Oh a bold new approach, I like it!" Port went off.

"Come on Weiss show it who's boss!" Ruby continued. Weiss looked at Ruby for a bit, this being said the boarbatusk took advantage of the slight distraction by tossing Weiss's rapier away from her then headbutting her a couple inches back.

"Hoho what will you do know without your weapon?" Peter inquired.

Rolling out of the way once more, Weiss ran and grabbed her weapon. "Weiss, go after its belly, there is no armor underneath." Ruby informed.

"Stop telling me what to do!" Weiss yelled back, only dimming Ruby's mood in the process. The boarbatusk rolled itself into a ball then launched itself towards Weiss who summoned a glyph just it time as the boarbatusk hit its head and fall onto its back. Jumping on the glyph behind her, she gave a downwards strike at the beast's stomach ending the battle.

"Bravo! Bravo! It appears we are indeed in the presence of a true huntress in training." The bell then rang. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and stay vigilant. Class dismissed." Soon after Port finished, Weiss left the classroom no doubt with anger.

"Sheesh what's with her?" Jaune decided to ask.

Ruby left the classroom looking for Weiss and I turned to Port. "Mind if I go after them?" He nodded, allowing me to leave.

Running out into the hallway, I tried to find them, but couldn't. "Ozpin made a mistake!" Weiss spoke with disdain.

I followed where the voice was coming from and see Weiss leaving angrily again with a depressed Ruby just standing there. "Hey Ruby, you ok?" I asked.

She turned to me with tear-filled eyes as she began sobbing into my shoulder. "Why? W-why is she s-so mean to m-me?" She asked me in between sobs.

Patting her head, I comforted her. "She's just mad because you were the best choice to be leader despite what she may have told you."

She looked up at me. "What if she's right? What if I'm a horrible leader and Ozpin did make a mistake?"

"Look Ruby, the path of a leader is a treacherous one. There will be times where you'll make the wrong decision, but what'll make you better is that you learn from those mistakes and try again later. No one ever said this job will be easy."

She cleaned her tears and smiled. "Easy for you to say, you are your own team."

"But that means I'm on my own without anybody watching my back. Unlike you all, I'm kinda screwed if I'm surrounded so I'd say you have way better odds than I do. Even then, if I am going down, I'm going down fighting."

"Thanks, I needed that."

"No problem, that's why I'm here and remember, you have more friends to ask for help. Now how about I go buy you something to eat to celebrate your position as leader?"

"I would like that." We began walking to the cafeteria when she stopped for a brief second. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Yesterday when teams were made, why did you choose to go solo? I mean Jaune or I would've accepted you in our teams."

"No that's not it. Remember what I said, I chose this because I wanted to go alone and like I've told Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch, everyone here is on a different level than I am so I have to work harder to succeed. Besides, if I need help, I will ask you or the others. The same goes for you if you need my help." I said with a smile on my face.

"Then can you help me with my homework?"

"That I can do unless it involves a lot of math which is where I will be the one needing help." We walked into the library as we put our stuff down and went to grab some books. Succeeding in getting what we needed, Ruby needed one last book but it was at the very top of the tall bookshelves. "Want me to get that for you?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "I got it." She walked away and came rolling back with one of those rolling ladders that were attached. She climbed to the very top and grabbed the textbook. "See I told you I got i-" As she started climbing down, her hood got in the way, causing her to slip and fall back.

I held my arms out and caught her. "You really should consider the length of your hood, it almost killed you once and could've gotten you hurt today." I smiled.

She got a little red then jumped out of my arms. "Your arm!"

"What about it?"

"Doesn't it still hurt?"

"Not at all, I heal pretty fast." I rolled up my sleeve and showed her that my arm was no longer bandaged but it had three claw marks on it. "All that was left was this scar. Now about your hood..."

"My hood and I will be fine. Now let's get back to studying." We sat down at a desk as she took out the cookies I bought for her on the way here. "So…" She paused to munch. "I need some help with Oobleck's lessons cause I ended up dozing off every now and then today and I am completely lost on what to do."

"Easy enough. Now what you need to know is this." Turning to certain pages, I started to lecture her on what she missed. I ended up helping her get a lot of work done since I had taken the liberty of asking the professors if they could teach me prior to the start of the school year, making me ahead of everyone else academically. Hours passed and she ended up falling asleep so I decided to pack our stuff and give her a piggyback ride to her dorm room. Knocking on her door, it opened to reveal Weiss who looked rather curious. "Hey Weiss, sorry if Ruby's late. I was helping her with Oobleck's lessons and she fell asleep a few minutes ago."

Weiss looked surprised. "Oh no worries, I'm just surprised that she studied. Her bed is over mine so you can just put her stuff on the desk."

"You should really give her a chance, she might surprise you later on." Laying Ruby on her bed and her stuff on the desk, I told Weiss goodnight and left to my own room.


	5. 05

_**Ms. Goodwitch's combat class**_

We see Jaune with a sword and shield fighting Cardin Winchester who's wearing armor all over and a phoenix embroidered on his chest plate, carrying a giant mace.

They've been fighting for a couple of minutes with Jaune looking exhausted unlike Cardin who doesn't look tired at all. Jaune charged at Cardin only to be sidestepped then blown back, losing his shield. As a last chance attack, Jaune raised his sword swinging downwards as Cardin blocked it.

"This is the part where you lose." Cardin said confidently.

"Over my dead bod-" Jaune couldn't finish because he was kneed in the gut, dropping his sword and stumbling onto the ground. Cardin raised his mace with the intent of finishing it but stopped when the buzzer rang. The lights in the classroom were turned back on as Ms. Goodwitch walked onto the stage and looked up to all of us in our seats.

"That's enough." Ms. Goodwitch said. "Students, as you can see, Mr. Arc's aura has now dropped into the red. In a tournament style duel, this would signify that Jaune is no longer fit for battle and that the official may call the match." She looked at Jaune. "Mr. Arc, please try to refer to your scroll during combat. Gauging your aura will help you decide when it is appropriate to attack or when it is better to move to a more defensive strategy. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a beowolf now would we?"

"Hmph speak for yourself." Cardin rudely remarked stepping off the arena.

"Remember everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away. It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale. So keep practicing." Everyone was getting excited. "Those who compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale." The bell rang as everyone started grabbing their stuff and left.

 _ **Cafeteria**_

Getting a bite to eat which to the other students looked like I was eating a buffet table, I was invited to sit with the others by Yang. I sat down with them as Nora began telling a story.

"So there we were in the middle of the night..." She said dramatically.

"It was day." Ren corrected.

"We were surrounding by ursai." She continued. Everyone was interested in the story. The only exceptions were Blake as she's reading a book, Weiss because she is filing her nails, and Jaune who looked sad.

"They were beowolves." Ren corrected once more.

"Dozens of them!" Nora announced standing up from the table.

"Two of them." Ren sighed.

"But they were no match and in the end Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of lien selling ursa skin rugs." She finished crossing her arms and sitting down while Ruby and Pyrrha looked at Jaune worriedly.

"She's been having this reoccurring dream for nearly a month now." He sighed once more.

"The only question I have is, if it's her dream, how would you be able to correct her?" I asked curiously. Ren shrugged his shoulders as Nora kept eating her food.

"Jaune." Pyrrha spoke. "Are you ok?"

Jaune snapped out of his trance. "Huh, oh w-why?" He asked shyly.

"It's just that you seem a little not ok." Ruby said, picking her words carefully.

"Guys, I'm fine. Seriously look." Jaune held a thumbs up and a fake smile before turning around.

Following his gaze, I see Cardin and his team picking on a rabbit eared girl with brown hair.

"Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school." Pyrrha stated.

"Who Cardin Winchester? Nah, he just like to mess around you know. Practical jokes."

"He's a bully." Ruby remarked.

"Oh please, name one time he's bullied me." Jaune made quotation marks with his fingers when he said bullied.

Seeing as how I already finished my plate, I walked to throw it away. As I walked back to the table I noticed Cardin pulling on the girl's ears as she asked him to stop continuously. I grabbed Cardin's wrist and twisted it to the side making him yelp in pain and let go of her ears. This caused the whole cafeteria to grow silent. "You ok?" I asked the girl as she quickly nodded her head before leaving.

"Let go of me you damn dirty ape!" Cardin demanded.

"Seriously, that's the best you got?" I grinned and let go of him. "Oh man, you act like you're the top dog of us first years and you insult me with a movie quote? Why don't you do us all a favor and get off your high horse before you get knocked off."

He felt so enraged by my taunting that he stood up from his seat to show that he is much taller than me, probably taller than Jaune by an inch. "You just made a huge mistake." Winding back, he swung his fist with as much strength that he can muster.

Gasps were heard as well as many shocked faces within the first years. The reason why is because I'm still standing unmoved with Cardin's fist mashed onto my cheek. Sighing, I crossed my arms then looked at him. "You should know better than to attack someone who doesn't intend to fight." I squeezed his arm and pushed him back into his team as they all fell onto the floor. "Because you don't know what will happen to you until you force their hand."

"One of these days, you'll regret this." He threatened me before walking out of the cafeteria with his team. The steady silence of the room ended as everyone started talking to one another again.

"Thank you although I feel bad about the fact that he'll bully you too." I turn to see the rabbit eared girl looking at the floor.

"No need to feel bad besides, I'm pretty sure his ego is partially ruined knowing that he couldn't knock me down and if he tries to mess with me, I'll just knock him down a few pegs. What's your name?"

"Velvet." She looked up showing her brown eyes. "Velvet Scarlatina."

"Oh, you're the girl from Team CFVY. You're a year above him so you shouldn't be letting him, his team, or anyone push you around. I can tell that you hold back so know when to stand your ground but if you ever need help, then I got your back."

"Thank you." She smiled and walked away.

I sat back down at the table only to have a variety of looks towards me. Blake looked rather proud of me for my actions though. "What?" I asked.

"You shouldn't fight outside of class, it's forbidden." Weiss explained.

"Eh what do I care? If anything he needed to realize that he isn't on top. Also I had to do something...not like anyone else was gonna do something about it." Once I said that, they each had small amounts of guilt in their faces.

"What if you get in trouble?" Pyrrha asked.

"Then I'll get in trouble. As long as she's fine, I don't care what happens to me plus it sends the message that someone is here to stand up for those who can't or are too scared to do so. We are training to be heroes but what good are we to people if we can't help our own."

"He does have a point." Blake agreed.

 _ **Two hours later**_

Walking out of leadership class, I felt great. "Finally that class is over!" I cheered. "I still have no idea why I am even taking this class."

"Because I don't want to be alone there and want to have at least one person to talk to." said Ruby.

"So what do you wanna do now?" I asked her.

"Well I was thinking of some combat practice, wanna help me?" She asked.

"Gladly, although be warned, I can get pretty difficult since I've been studying everyone from our class during Goodwitch's class. Plus I've been training every day so I'm much stronger now than I was at the initiation."

 _ **Practice Room**_

We had changed into our gear then stood face to face. "Ok so how are we gonna do this?" I asked stretching.

"I was wondering if you can teach me some fighting techniques." She responded.

"Alright, but first fight me with everything you have. Do not hesitate to hurt me or you will not win." I said getting into a boxing stance.

She prepared her Crescent Rose. "Alright here I go!" She charged at me full speed, slamming her Crescent Rose onto me. I was able to grab her weapon and kick her back. She breathed in some air before charging once more, this time with her semblance activated. She jumped and shot the sniper portion of her scythe. Deflecting the shot, I noticed that she was gone. "Here I am!" She ran past me but not before smacking the back of my head with the blunt side of Crescent Rose. Grasping my head in pain, I felt her hit me once again but this time in my ribs which knocked me down to the ground. I picked myself up off the ground to try to see her but all she was, was a blur moving around me. I closed my eyes and listened closely to her movements, hearing her continue to run in a circle and waiting for her to change direction. This went on for a while longer until I heard her momentum changed and get much closer to me. Before she could strike, I opened my eyes and shot out a weak ki blast southwest of me. The ki blast hit, knocking her back along with her weapon flying out of her hand. Her aura deactivated when she hit the wall then the ground.

I walked over to her as she struggled back onto her feet. "Yahhh!" She unleashed a right hook towards my ribs but was blocked. She continued punching and kicking with all her might for a couple of minutes although her movements were much slower than she was without her weapon.

Deciding to give her a break, I flicked her forehead causing her to step back. "We are done for now Ruby. Great work."

"Thank you." She panted. "Although I was very slow at the end there, now you see why I asked you for help, cause you are better."

"True, only reason I became as good as I am now was due to Ms. Goodwitch and this isn't a matter of how experienced I am, but a matter of that you are more accustomed to your weapon. Just like how she helped me..." Walking up to her, I gave her a pat on the head. "I'll be there to help you."

"Awesome! I hope we can continue training tomorrow afternoon cause right now I gotta finish some homework, bye!" She grabbed her stuff then stepped out of the room.

I stood in the same spot for a couple of minutes before continuing my own training. A couple hours passed and I walked out of the room. I roamed around the school and heard what seemed to a person crying. Following the noise, I stepped outside to see Pyrrha on a bench. "Pyrrha you ok?"

"I'm fine, nothing to worry about." She smiled and stood up to leave.

"Speak what's on your mind, don't keep them hidden." I spoke with a serious tone.

Sighing, she sat back down. "It's about Jaune."

"What about him, did something happen?"

"After Oobleck's class, I asked him to follow me somewhere private. I took him to the roof of one of the dorms and asked him if I could help him with training." She started becoming angry. "He was insulted by my question thinking that I was calling him weak! He yelled at me saying he doesn't need anyone's help because he wanted to be the hero and to leave him alone!" I saw a small tear shed from her eyes.

"You shouldn't take it to heart. He was probably feeling some deep emotions and unwillingly lashed it out on you. Once his head is cooled and he thinks things through, he will apologize for his actions."

"Thanks." She said.

"No problem. It's always better to vent out your frustrations to anyone who's willing to help you. That reminds me, wanna spar tomorrow with Ruby and I? It'll take your mind off of it."

"Is that why you smell?"

"Is it that bad?"

"Not really."

"Ok good cause if I did then I would have called the nurse to see if your nose is gonna survive." I said, getting a tiny laugh out of her. "So yeah, she asked me to teach her some hand-to-hand combat after school today. Since she is used to fighting with her weapon instead of her fists, she is struggling but I believe that she can get the hang of it with both of our help. Plus I can use some help as well."

Pyrrha regained the smile I'm used to seeing her have. "I'll gladly help."

"Awesome, although be warned, the blunt end of her scythe hurts like hell. I should know, she hit me in the back of the head with it and I'm still hearing some ringing." I joked, getting a small snort out of her to which she covered her mouth and nose. "Was that a snort?"

"Uhhhhh...no." She said with a small blush.

"Right, well goodnight Pyrrha, be ready tomorrow afternoon."

 _ **Couple days later in Forever Falls**_

Since that day, I've noticed Jaune hang out with Cardin more. And by hang out, I mean Jaune being pushed around by him and his team. Now as much as I would love to go up to Cardin and punch him, I can't because I promised Pyrrha to let Jaune get through this on his own.

"Yes students, I know the forest of Forever Falls is indeed beautiful, but remember that we are here to collect sap for Professor Peach and also there are many Grimm reported in this forest so be careful." Ms. Goodwitch instructed.

We all split off into small groups of two or three except for Jaune who went with Cardin's team. Pyrrha and I were able to collect a good amount of sap and we laughed a bit when we saw Nora drink all the sap from her jar. Suddenly, Cardin's team ran towards us screaming.

Yang grabbed Russel. "What's going on?"

"A big ursa and it's got Cardin!" He responded then started running away.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha yelled with worry in her voice, dropping a jar.

"Yang, Blake, you both go get Professor Goodwitch. We will handle this." Ruby ordered taking her weapon out. Pyrrha and Weiss did the same as we ran. We stumbled upon an Ursa Major fighting Jaune with Cardin on the ground in fear. Ruby and Weiss prepared to fight, but Pyrrha stopped them insisting on Jaune fighting it alone. Jaune rolled out of an attack then charged towards the grimm only to get slapped back by its claw. He took a moment to breath before once again attacking. He swept his sword as the Ursa struck down. Seeing how Jaune was not going to be the victor of this clash, I prepared to fight as Jaune's shield was glowing with a black outline raising itself to block the attack. Gaining some momentum, Jaune continued his attack, decapitating the ursa.

"Eh what?" Ruby questioned about what just transpired. I stood confused as well.

"Well if you must know, Ruby has her speed, Weiss has her glyphs, Idris with his energy manipulation, my semblance is polarity." Pyrrha explained.

"You can control poles?" Ruby awed.

"No you dunce, it means she has control over magnetism." Weiss corrected.

"Magnets are cool too…" She trailed off then had a look of confusion. "Wait aren't we gonna tell them what happened?"

"Why don't we keep this as our little secret?" Pyrrha suggested. We all agreed before leaving.

 _ **Three days later in Combat Class**_

"Well Cardin, you wanted to get some revenge so come on, give it your best shot." I said.

"Finally I get to teach you your rightful place in society." He boasted.

"Begin." The buzzer rang.

Cardin raised his mace then slammed it down as I stepped aside to avoid him. He swung once more and I jumped onto his shoulders. I wrapped my tail around his neck and jumped to the ground, dropping him to his back. Upon hitting the ground he had lost his grip on his mace but before it could roll away, I took hold of it with my tail. He snarled and jumped onto his feet. He threw a punch only to miss then went for a kick that I raised my hand to block. I spun myself, hitting him across the chest with his mace as he rolled across the floor. I threw the mace at him to make it fair again. I laughed while moving around like an overzealous fighter. "Agalo con ganas guey! No tienes los huevos para lastimarme perro!" My taunting only seemed to make him angrier.

"Shut up and stay still filthy faunus!" He barked and missed another shot.

"Alright." I stood still as his mace struck my chest and pushed me to the edge of the stage.

"You're such an idiot, I can't believe you actually let me hit you!" Cardin laughed.

"You're the idiot in this situation." I smiled and stood up straight, showings no signs of damage. "Your mace can't do anything to me, nor can your armor protect you." I did a simple vanishing step and dug my fist through his chestplate. From the inside, I grabbed his shirt and tossed him to where his team was sitting. His aura was out and I won.

"Very impressive display Idris." said Ms. Goodwitch, looking over to the rest of the class shortly after. "One thing to take from this spar is that a calm demeanor is key in battle. You can never lose your composure against an opponent looking to tempt you or you will end up making mistakes that will cost you dearly." The school bell rang as students walked out of the class with Cardin being carried by his team.

I jumped up to the stands and was rushed by Yang. "You tanked his mace like it was nothing! Most people without auras would be seriously hurt so tell me, how did you get so strong so fast?" asked Yang.

"A lot of training. So what do you all want to do today?" I asked everyone.

"Let's head out to Vale and have some fun!" Nora suggested.

"Well Jaune and I have some training to do. Sorry Nora." Pyrrha apologized.

"And I have to study for a major exam coming up." Weiss said leaving.

"I'm busy too, sorry." Blake said walking out.

"Well that still leaves us then, let's go." The rest of us followed Nora as we boarded an airship.

 _ **Vale**_

Arriving to the city, we decided to go watch a scary movie despite Ruby's refusal. We left the theater satisfied except for her who's clinging to Yang's arm in fright.

"Come on Ruby the movie wasn't that bad." Yang said in an attempt to calm Ruby down.

"Says you, you know how I get nightmares sometimes?" Ruby pointed out.

"That's only when you eat too many cookies little sis." Yang joked.

Ruby blushed a bit. "Shut up!"

"I'll admit, some of those scenes were pretty unsettling, but that's what we getting for watch Nightmare on Elm Street."

"It may be old but it is a classic." Ren said.

"Eh, I like the Halloween movies more. Michael Myers for the win." Yang shrugged.

"Nah, the best ones are the Chucky movies. Nothing scarier than a killer doll." Nora smiled.

"What about a shirtless Port?" Yang asked, cringing at her own question.

"Take it from me who has hung out with Port a couple times before the school year started, dude may have a gut but he has some serious muscle."

"No way." Ruby raised her eyebrow at me.

"It's the truth." I laughed. "Packed more heat than an ursa when he was in his prime. Complete powerhouse if you got on his bad side. Even the other professors agree. You should've seen the photos."

"Since when did he ever say that?"

"You'd know if you girls paid close attention to his stories and lectures like Ren and I do."

"I'll believe it when I see it." said Yang. "So bringing this conversation back when you fought Cardin. What was that language you were speaking to him with?"

"Well it is one that I learned back home but I'm unsure if people know what it is here. I don't use it very much because of that but I do since it pays homage to where I was raised and I don't want to forget it."

"Maybe we can ask Oobleck to tell us if he's heard of it, he's the history professor so there's a good chance he might " Ren suggested.

"Maybe but for now let's enjoy ourselves for a bit longer."


	6. 06

I've decided to head into Vale to see if anyone needed help setting up for the Vytal Festival since Beacon is hosting the event. There wasn't much help needed as they said that they could handle it so I continued walking around trying to find something to do. Eventually all my wandering led me to the docks for some reason. "Idris~" Knowing exactly whose voice it was, I turned to see Yang along with the rest of the girls.

"Hey everyone, what's up?" I greeted them.

"We came here to see the whole setup while Weiss came here to spy on the competition." Blake stated.

"I'm not spying, I'm simply observing." Weiss corrected.

"Hey what's that?" Ruby pointed to a store with police tape in front of it. We walked closer and overheard two policemen talking about possible suspects. When one of them mentioned the White Fang, Weiss got a bit angry.

"Hmph the White Fang. What an awful bunch of degenerates." She insulted.

"What's your problem?" Blake asked.

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss said with a blunt tone.

"The White Fang are hardly a bunch of psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided faunus." Blake said crossing her arms.

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet." Weiss pointed out.

"So then they're very misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale." Blake explained.

"Blake does have a point." Ruby agreed. "Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago. Maybe it was him."

Weiss crossed her arms. "That doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."

"Well that's not necessarily true." Yang spoke.

"Hey, stop that faunus!" Someone yelled out making us turn to a ship where a blonde monkey faunus our age wearing an open white shirt, blue shorts, black and yellow shoes and red gauntlets was running from guards. The blonde jumped onto the boardwalk and continued running until he jumped onto a lamp post and hanged upside down by his tail while peeling a banana. One of the cops threw a rock at him and as a result was the peel landing on the cop's head. The blonde then continued running past us, winking at Blake. I felt a smidge of discomfort when he did that for some reason.

"Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition and there it goes." Yang said smiling.

"Quick we have to observe him!" Weiss said running off with Yang and Ruby following her.

"Hey Blake you ok?" I nudged her shoulder, snapping her out of her trance.

"Yeah I'm fine." She said running to catch up with the others.

'Eh I'm pretty sure they got this.' I shrugged my shoulders and began walking. I was able to catch up to them, but there was a new person with them. She appeared to have short, rather curly orange hair that comes down to her chin, bright green eyes, pale skin, freckles, and she wears a pink bow on the back of her head. She wears an old-fashioned blouse with short overalls, as well as a black and green collar with a matching pair of stockings. "Who's this?" I asked.

"Hi I'm Penny, it's a pleasure to meet you." She said, introducing herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too." I kindly smiled but stopped when she gave me a curious look. "Is something wrong?"

She realized she was doing and stopped. "I'm sorry for staring."

"So what I miss?" I asked team RWBY.

"Well she said that she's here for the tournament." Yang said.

"That reminds me, I don't have a team, would I still be allowed to join?"

"Maybe if the professors vouch for you then it might be allowed but competing alone would be crazy. You'd be outnumbered in most of your matches."

"In that case, there must be a way for me to enter. Can't be sitting in the sidelines while everyone else fights." I smiled.

"That aside, does that mean that you know that monkey-tailed rapscallion?" Weiss asked, grabbing Penny's shoulders.

"The who?" Penny asked confused then pointed at me. "You mean him?"

Weiss showed her a badly drawn description of the guy they were chasing. "The filthy faunus from the boat!"

"Why do you keep saying that?" Blake said raising her voice. "Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's just a person."

"Oh I'm sorry!" Weiss sarcastically apologized. "Would you want to stop calling this trashcan a trashcan or this lamp post as a lamp post?" She pointed to each object.

"Stop it!" Blake yelled.

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time and he'll probably join those other faunus in the White Fang." Weiss retorted.

Blake clenched her fist. "Ugh you ignorant little brat!"

"Enough!" Raising my voice, everyone turned to me in surprise. I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed before looking at Blake and Weiss. "Please stop arguing you two. You're a team. Besides there probably is a good reason why he stowed away on that ship. Now can you both please drop this argument?" I asked of them.

Both of them nodded in agreement. Saying goodbye to Penny, I dropped the girls off at their dorm then headed to my room. I sat down at my desk and started finishing some sketches that I haven't had chance to finish. Just as I was about to finish the third one, someone started furiously knocking on my door. I opened it to see that it was a panicked Ruby. "Blake's gone!" She yelled.

"What?! What happened?"

"She and Weiss got into another argument then she ended up revealing that she was a faunus then just ran!"

'Guess the sketching will have to wait.' I sighed. "Alright, I'll go look for her then I'll bring her back." I said before closing the door of my room and running. 'Why'd this have to happen?' Running non-stop for a few minutes, I decided to sense her energy which led me out to the courtyard and find her crying in front of the statue with her cat ears showing. "Cute ears."

Blake turned to look at me with tears falling from her eyes. "How'd you know I was here?"

"Well for one, I can sense energy." I walked towards her and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Ruby told me what happened but I want to hear it from you...What happened between you and Weiss?"

"Weiss and I continued arguing after you left. It escalated to the point that I revealed that I was a faunus. I panicked and ran out!" She explained, nearly tearing up again.

"You know, Ruby is very worried about you and she wants you to come back although with what just happened, I don't think you plan on coming back, at least not yet. What are you gonna do now?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll just hide in Vale for a few days till this blows over or something."

"I'll go with you."

"Why?" She spoke with a surprised tone.

"Because, you shouldn't go through this alone."

She cleaned a tear from her eye. "Thank you."

"Also I believe that we might have another guest coming with us. Right?" Looking behind me, I saw the monkey faunus from earlier.

"Certainly nice to meet another monkey faunus."

"Likewise."

 _ **Few days later**_

During this time, I've gotten to know more about Blake. She told me about her time in the White Fang and in return I've told her about my mom, even the part of me killing those two guys. Now here we are sitting with Sun in a café.

"So you want to know more about me?" She sighed asking Sun.

"Finally she speaks." He responded raising his hands in the air then putting them down. "Nearly two days and you've given me nothing but small talk and weird looks." He got a glare from Blake. "Yeah like that."

"You know, you should be considerate to how she feels Sun." I suggested.

Blake rolled her eyes. "Sun, are you familiar with the White Fang?"

"Of course, I don't think there's a faunus on the planet that hasn't heard about them. Stupid holier than thou creeps that use force to get whatever they want. Bunch of freaks if you ask me."

Blake sipped her drink before speaking. "I was once a member of the White Fang." She revealed making Sun choke on his drink in shock.

"Wait a minute, you were a member of the White Fang?!"

"That's right. I was a member for most of my life actually. You could almost say that I was born into it. Back then things were different. In the ashes of war, the White Fang was meant to be a symbol of unity between human and the faunus. Of course despite being promised equality, the faunus were subjected to discrimination and hate."

"Humanity still thought of us as lesser beings. And so the White Fang rose up as our voice of our people. And I was there. I was at the front of every rally. I took part in every boycott and I actually thought that we were making a difference. But I was just a youthful optimist. Then five years ago, our leader stepped down and a new one took his place. A new leader with a new way of thinking."

"Suddenly our peaceful protests were being replaced with organized attacks. We were setting fire to shops that refused to serve us. Hijacking cargo from companies that used faunus labor and the worst part was that it was working. We were being treated like equals, but not out of respect, out of fear."

"So, I left. I decided that I no longer wanted to use my skills to aid in their violence, and instead I would dedicate my life to becoming a huntress. So here I am, a criminal hiding in plain view all with the help of a little black bow." She finished, wiggling her ears within her bow.

"So have you told your friends any of this?" Sun asked Blake getting no response from her.

"I don't think this is the best time for that question Sun." I said.

We stayed at the cafe for a couple more minutes before leaving a tip and stepping out.

"So what's the plan now?" Sun asked walking with his arms behind his head.

Blake sighed. "I still don't think the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much dust before."

"What if they did? I mean the only way to prove that they didn't do it is to go to the place they would most likely go to if they were to do it and not find them there. Right?" Sun said surprising Blake and I on how much it made sense.

"The only thing is I have no idea where that would be." Blake stated.

"Well while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of dust from Atlas." He pointed out.

"How huge?" She asked.

"Huge. Big Schnee company freighter." He made hand motion gesturing how big it is.

"You're sure?"

"It couldn't hurt to try although it'd be better if we did this at night." I suggested.


	7. 07

_**Vale Docks, after hours**_

Blake and I sat on a roof waiting for Sun to return from doing whatever he was doing. Within a few minutes, I started sensing large amounts of people drawing near. 'Must be them. At least twenty more or less, all have similar energies except one who has a human's energy so the others must be faunus. Can't be a prisoner either since that person was at a much higher level of energy. "Did I miss anything?" Sun asked, with a couple of apples on him.

"Not really, they've offloaded all the crates off the boat, now they're just sitting there." Blake answered.

"Cool, I stole you some food." He smiled, handing Blake and I each an apple.

"Thanks." I grabbed the apple and took a look at it before taking a bite out of it. "They're almost here, my guess is a couple miles away."

"How can you tell?" asked Sun.

"I can sense energy, how do you think I knew you were there watching over Blake and I?"

"True, tru-" He was interrupted when an airship flew past us and landed in the middle of the shipyard. After the airship had landed, many men and women dressed in uniforms with the White Fang insignia walked off.

"Oh no." Blake said.

"Is that them?" Sun squinted his eyes in an attempt to see them.

"I'd remember that symbol anywhere." I felt a little anger rise from within me but I took a few breaths to calm myself down.

"Yes, it's them." She spoke with a sad tone.

"You really didn't think they weren't behind it did you?"

"No, I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right."

"Hey! What's the holdup?!" An orange haired man yelled walking down from the airship. He was dressed in a white coat, brown pants and shoes, and wore a bowler hat carrying a cane.

"That's the guy, I wonder if that is Torchwick.' I asked myself.

"We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment. So why don't you animals try to pick up the pace?" He scolded the uniformed men.

"This isn't right." Blake stood up from the ground. "The White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that." She unsheathed her weapon and jumped off the roof. Sun went with her then headed to the top of a stack of containers.

I saw that Blake was able to get behind Torchwick and she held her sword against his throat. "Nobody move!"

"Woah take it easy there little lady." The man spoke with a calm voice. White Fang members took out their weapons surrounding Blake. Sun was able to silently climb on one of the containers and waited for the right time to strike.

Blake quickly removed her bow and showed her cat ears. "Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum?" They began rethinking their actions as some lowered their weapons.

"Heh oh kid, didn't you get the memo?" Torchwick asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together."

"Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation." Blake threatened him, holding her blade even closer to his throat.

Two more airships flew in above them to surround the area. "I wouldn't exactly call it a little operation." The man then shot the floor with his cane, launching Blake back. Blake regained her senses as the man continued shooting at her. Luckily she was able to avoid every shot and hid behind a container. As a distraction Sun threw a banana peel at the guy and stomped on him, gaining the attention of everyone in the area.

Vanishing from my current spot, I reappeared behind a group of soldiers. I knocked out one guy which caused the others to turn to me. 'Should've been stealthier.' They all raised their guns but before they could fire, I shot a finger beam to each of their guns, destroying them all. "Better. Alright boys, lets handle business."

"I'm a girl actually." One of them raised their hands.

"Oh...well...then I think you might want to leave for your own safety."

"Say no more. After what happened to those guns, I am out of here." She said then started running as some of the other soldiers followed suit, leaving only three.

"Well that kinda ruined the moment...Oh well." I took advantage of the distraction and kicked the nearest guy in the head before dropping the next one with a punch to the gut then hitting the last one in the chin with my knee. I looked over my shoulder to see Blake and Sun still fighting Torchwick. They were able to knock him back a few feet, but they didn't notice a shipment container hanging above them. Running towards them as Torchwick shot the cable holding the container, I pushed them away and lifted my arms up, catching the container.

"Idris!" Blake yelled out with worry in her voice.

"No worries, I'm fine." I said, feeling my arms already getting tired. 'Pretty heavy though, I gotta find somewhere to throw it or I'm gonna be crushed. Seriously gotta start weight training after this.'

"Hey!" A familiar voice called out. Turning to my head, I see Ruby standing on a rooftop and planting her scythe next to her.

"Well hello Red, isn't it past your bedtime?" The man asked as if he'd known her before.

Penny showed up behind Ruby. "Ruby, are these people your friends?"

Ruby turned to face her. "Penny get back." Torchwick took advantage of the slight distraction and aimed his cane at her.

Tossing the container, I charged towards him. He blocked my fist with his cane just as I got to him then pushed me back. He aimed his cane at me and I held my arms up to block it but nothing happened. Within that moment, he hit each of my limbs with his cane and aimed it right at my chest then pulled the trigger as his round exploded, covering me in purple smoke. The smoke faded and I stood there with a heavily torn shirt and a couple of scratches on my chest.

"Gonna take a lot more than that to hurt me-" I took one step then held onto my chest as I felt a heartbeat throughout my body.

He smiled, twirling his cane. "Poisonous dust, works quick and never fails. Oh and in case you haven't noticed, I got something you probably want. Looking for this?" He held my scarf in his hand.

"Give that-" A jolt of pain shot up. "-back!"

"Did your mommy make this for you? She must have been pretty good at knitting since this is such a beautiful design, it'd be a shame if something happened to it. Oh and the guilt I'd feel knowing I was the cause of it...that is, if I ever felt any guilt." Grabbing a lighter from his pocket, he set it on fire.

As it burned, rage was the only thing flowing through me right then and there. "You're gonna wish you hadn't done that!" I tried punching him but with my strength depleting, he used his cane to block me again. With each and every hit I tried to get on him, he would always find a way to avoid or block it which was starting to really rile me up.

"Come on monkey boy, I was expecting more from you but it seems that you are pretty easy to handle."

"Shut up!" I threw another punch but he ducked under it, placed the end of his cane on the bottom of my chin, and pulled the trigger. The force of it sent me up into the air and falling down to the ground hard enough that my body sunk into the concrete. Moving my body as best I could, I rolled over onto my stomach and was able to get myself onto my knees. My breathing was heavy and blood was dripping from my mouth as I heard Roman walk in front of me then felt his cane on the top of my head.

"It's been nice having fun at your misery kid. I wish we had a bit more time but sadly that time has run out." I felt my body move itself past his cane and grab his wrist. "Let go you idiot." A power I've never felt before began to surface and it felt overwhelming. I rose from the ground and stood. With a forceful roar I shook the ground as all the street lamps shorted out and exploded along with shipping container stacks crumbling down onto the ground and some into the ocean. Staring straight into his eyes, I let out a yell then bend his fist backwards, hearing a snap. I relished the sound of hearing him yell in pain before I punched him and sent him sliding across the ground. Fueled with this unknown strength and flaring it outwards, my power was strong enough that bits and pieces of rubble were rising from the ground. Before I could get to him, the remaining soldiers stood in front of him and started firing. I stopped in my tracks and caught each and every bullet with one hand and blasted them all with the other.

"Oh for the love of...What do they feed kids these days?!" Roman said with a frustrated tone before throwing a little pellet to the ground which created a bright flash of light and left me disoriented.

Regaining my vision and hearing airships lifting off the ground and some coming in, I turned to them and held out one hand. I shot a blast to each ship but only one of the airships was able to dodge it. Before I could shoot the last one down, the energy within me had been cut off along with my heart starting to beat faster. I kneeled down and felt my body weakening in a quicker pace than it should along with my eyesight slowly becoming a blur. Coughing a few times, I felt something coming out of my mouth and I wiped my hand across it to see that it was more blood but I looked down at the ground to see the splatter of it. I collapsed onto the floor and all I heard was someone running over to me.

Ruby slid towards me and moved me onto my back. "Oh no!" She held my head up and I was barely able to see a few tears falling down her face. "Hey look at me, you're gonna be ok got that!"

"What's wrong with him?!" asked Sun.

"I don't know, just call an ambulance!" She told him as she tried to think of something to do.

Blake grabbed my hand. "Please hold on just a little bit longer!" Anything else said after that was just noise to me as I lost consciousness only a few seconds later.

 _?_

 _"Come along now Ris." Once again, it was that silhouette but she called me by a shortened version of my name. At this point, it seemed like I was around three. She and my younger self were exploring the woods and they stopped when a family of ducks were waddling by. He seemed so intrigued by them that he walked up to the ducks and held out his hand. The mother duck honked at him, startling him then ran off with her kids._

 _"I didn't want to hurt them, I only wanted to pet them." He said._

 _She put her hand on his head. "Parents are protective of their children because they understand what is out there. A parent's job is to raise them, ready for the world and will protect them no matter what until that day comes."_

 _"Do you think I will ever be strong enough to protect you instead?"_

 _"Being a protector is a tough job. You think that you'll be able to handle it?"_

 _"For you, I can handle anything."_

 _She chuckled at that response and held her hand out. "Okay big hero now c'mon, let's go back home."_

 _ **?**_

"He's waking up, everybody be quiet." Hearing a familiar voice, I opened my eyes to see Team RWBY, JNPR, Ozpin, and Ms. Goodwitch around me.

"Nice to see you all made up. Where am I and how long have I been out?" I yawned, scratching my head with my tail.

"You've been in the Beacon infirmary for a couple days now. You gave us all quite the scare, had it not been for the paramedics arriving quickly, who knows what would've happened to you." Ozpin answered.

"From what Ms. Rose and Ms. Belladonna told Ozpin and I, you changed your appearance during your small altercation with Roman Torchwick. They explained that a yellow aura formed around you and had a red glow all over your body. Is there more to your race than what you first told Ozpin and I?" asked Ms. Goodwitch.

"Before I answer that, they deserve to know the truth about me."

"About that, they already told us. Pretty interesting story and it does explain a lot." Ruby smiled. "Please we had to tell Jaune's team cause they were worried about you."

"She's right, it explains a lot, like a whole lot." said Jaune.

"Like how you've gotten so much better at fighting in a short amount of time, your monster strength, all those energy attacks, those crazy eating habits that surpasses Nora's by a mile." Yang started listing off what she can think of at the moment.

"There's also his increase in intelligence and incredibly adaptive sense in battle." Pyrrha added.

"And don't forget how he usually heals much quicker than normal." Weiss chipped in.

"I get it. I get it." I sighed and smiled. "Nice to know you were all worried. So to start this off, you all know the whole werewolf thing where they transform under the full moon?" I asked them.

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Yang.

"Because is important for you all to know this now so it doesn't happen later. Saiyans are the same but we transform into what is called a Great Ape, a form that any saiyan can access, even an infant. Thankfully, the moon is partially shattered or you'd have something far worse than grimm to worry about."

"So just a big ape, you mean like a beringel?" asked Weiss.

I shook my head. "Not even close, I'm talking about a literal King Kong rampaging with no conscious who can shoot beams out of his mouth. Now for what happened yesterday was related to something held in a legend...A rageful golden haired saiyan with power strong enough to rival gods is what it was described as. Although, what happened to me was something different. I ended up transforming into a False Super Saiyan."

"A False Super Saiyan? And how is that form achievable?" Ozpin asked.

"Just random chance although I think it's the same as becoming a Super Saiyan. You see, power comes in response to a need, not a desire. That need was created during my fight with Roman and my body gained incredible power because of it. Thing is, my body wasn't capable of handling that kind of strength so I was only able to use some of its power." I moved the blanket aside and moved to place my feet on the floor before getting up and wincing due to a jolt of pain spreading all over. "Guess the strain is still there."

"What're you doing?! You haven't fully recovered yet!" yelled Nora.

"She's right, it's only gonna get worse if you don't rest." Ren added.

I smiled. "I'm gonna go train, that's what I'm gonna do."

Ms. Goodwitch looked at me with one of her eyebrows twitching. "No you will not young man, you will rest until your injuries are healed properly!"

"Sorry Ms. Goodwitch, you of all people here know that you can't change my mind. It was like Ozpin said when he and I were talking in the infirmary, I lack the experience. And for me to be better, I gotta work even harder, harder than I have before." I walked past them and left the room.


	8. 08

_**?**_

Hearing the sounds of a crowd, I opened my eyes to see that I'm in the middle of a school hallway. Looking closely, I remember that this is the school I used to go to. 'Why am I back here? Better yet, how am I here?'

"Hey!" Turning to the voice, I see that the person calling me was a friend of mine named Brandon. "Where have you been, come on the others are going to be happy to see you." Following him, we ended up in a room with some close friends.

"Hey everyone." I waved. They seemed very happy to see me as they ran up to me for a group hug. After sitting down, they began telling me about all that I've missed. "Man, I can't believe I missed that!" I laughed wiping a tear from my eye.

"Yeah, you should've been there." Adonis spoke. "So how's that new life of yours going?"

"It's been go- wait what?"

"He asked you about your new life." Raul clarified.

"I heard him, but how do you know about it? If anything, you should've forgotten about me." I stood up from my seat in shock.

"How could we forget you, we've known each other for too long. So tell us all about it." Brandon said.

Despite of the situation, I told them what I've been up to. "You became a saiyan?! Now I'm jealous." Adonis complained. "Then again, I would've wanted to be what Frieza was instead."

"I'm sorry for abandoning you three. It's alright if you don't forgive me." I bowed my head with regret in my tone.

"Hey." Raul put his hand on my shoulder. "As long as you're enjoying your life then we aren't mad. Sad since you didn't take us with you, but not mad." He smiled.

I picked my head up and smiled. "Thanks guys and as you haven't forgotten about me, I haven't forgotten about you. Although I wish I could've brought you with me. The amount of fun we would've had is unimaginable. Thing is, I didn't know if you would've liked it. Plus I couldn't dare to rip you all out of your lives." Just then, I see some things around us beginning to disappear.

"Looks like we're running out of time. We've got to get going. Bye." Adonis and Raul disappeared, leaving Brandon.

"So this is a real goodbye huh?" I said with teary eyes.

"Yeah, I guess so. Until we meet again right?" He held out his fist.

"It'd be a miracle but definitely." Bumping fists, everything completely disappeared.

 _ **Beacon**_

Quickly opening my eyes and sitting up, I see that I'm back in my dorm room. 'So it was just a dream.' Feeling something in my eyes, I wiped them seeing that there were tears flowing. I went to take a shower then changed into my new gear consisting of black gauntlets, white pants, black boots, and a dark green shirt with the saiyan insignia on the left shoulder area. Not including the pants or boots, all are weighted to be two hundred pounds each thanks to Ms. Goodwitch who was able to put a spell on it. I've gotten used to the weight since our training these past few days which means that I have to ask her to increase the weight. Ever since I told my friends the truth, they haven't really asked me much. I guess they decided not to bombard me with questions which I do appreciate.

Walking out of my room, I was greeted by Team RWBY. "Oh good morning." I smiled. "What can I help you girls with?"

"We were just wondering what you were going to do over the break." Weiss asked.

"I don't really have much planned." I rubbed my chin. "And I don't really have much to go home to anymore either…" I trailed off.

"Your eyes look a little red, are you alright?" Blake asked.

"Don't worry, I'm fine." I grinned. "It's probably cause of the sweat that got into my eyes while I was training last night. It really stings when it happens."

 _ **Vale**_

I had flown over to Vale after eating and was walking to a nearby flower shop where I was greeted by an elderly couple. "Good morning dear, what are you looking for?" The woman asked me.

"I was wondering if you had a bouquet of roses?"

"Coming right up." She was gone for a minute before coming back. "Here you go. That must be one lucky lady you're buying this for."

"Well it's not really for a love interest, it is for my mother. Today is the first day in months that I have a chance to see her since I left home. I looked at the flowers with a sad smile.

"Oh well isn't that nice. At least you're not like my grandkids and never visit me. I wish they would at least once a month. Then again, they are huntsmen so I can't expect to see them much."

"Wherever they are, I'm sure they will come home and visit you." I said, aiming a sincere smile to her.

"I hope so. Have a nice day." She smiled back.

After walking out, a child ran past me trying to catch her balloon that floated off into a tree. "Oh no my balloon!" She cried out. "My balloon!"

"Here, let me help you." I walked to the tree and reached up to get it. Grabbing a hold of it, I also took a rose from the bouquet and smiled, tying the balloon to her wrist and handing her the rose. "There, now it can't possibly fly away. Also, you shouldn't be running off on your own in a big city like this."

"I'm not alone, my parents are with...me." She turned around only to see that her parents weren't there. "Oh no, I must've ran too far!"

"Don't worry, I'll help you find them." I sensed the girl's energy then expanded my senses to see if anyone else was close to matching hers and I found two energies a few blocks away from us. "Climb up on my back, it'd be faster if I run." She climbed on and I lightly jogged over to where those two energies were.

The energies led me to a park where I found a man and woman frantically looking for something. "Mama!" The little girl squealed. I set her down as she ran towards her parents.

"Maddy!" The mother cried and hugged her tightly. "We thought we'd never find you! Please don't ever run off without us!"

"I promise mama."

The father looked up to me. "Thank for bringing our daughter to us."

"It was no trouble. Just glad to help." I smiled and walked away. Getting far enough from anyone seeing me, I flared my ki and shot into the sky.

 **Evergreen Mountain**

Landing with a soft thud, I walked around reminiscing about how much fun I had running around here. I walked over to my house which thankfully was the exact same way I left it. "Hey mom I'm home!" I called out but was responded with dead silence despite how much I wanted to just see her come running to hug me. I walked up the staircase and headed to my room, leaving the door open. I grabbed an extra bag from my closet and started grabbing some materials from my desk and the sketchbook I left here. I stepped out of my room, closed the door, and went downstairs.

I took a seat on the couch and took the photo album that was on the coffee table. Flipping through the pages, I smiled sadly at the times she and I had. I left the album on the coffee table then stepped outside. I sighed then began walking somewhere else.

Arriving in front of the lake, I walked to mom's grave and placed the roses on the tombstone. Sitting down, I let out a sigh again. "Hey mom, sorry I haven't visited you lately. I've been busy these past few months. Unexpectedly, I've been accepted to Beacon to learn to be a huntsman. I've made many friends within the students, some teachers, even with the headmaster as well. My training is going well and I'm slowly but surely becoming one of the top in my class. I'm sorry that the scarf you made me ended up being destroyed. I hope everything I've been doing has made you proud of me." I smiled.

Letting out another sigh, a somber expression replaced the smile. "I know I promised that I would stay the same despite what happened to you, but sometimes it's hard to do so. I just miss you so much that when I visited the house, I was hoping that you'd magically come out and hug me. I wish I could go back to that moment and change it although I shouldn't grieve forever since I have friends who I can rely on. Hope you like this, you know I've been practicing." I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes.

 _Of all the money that I ever had_

 _I spent it in good company_

 _And all the harm that I've ever done_

 _Alas it was to none but me_

 _And all I've done for want of wit_

 _To memory now I can't recall_

 _So fill to me the parting glass_

 _Goodnight and joy be with you all_

 _To all the comrades that I ever had_

 _I'm sorry for my going away_

 _And to all the sweethearts that I've ever known_

 _They'd wish me one more day to stay_

 _But since it falls unto my lot_

 _That I should rise and you should not_

 _I'll gently rise and softly call_

 _Goodnight and joy be with you all_

 _Goodnight and joy be with you al_ l

I sighed. "I know you're there." From behind the trees, Team RWBY walked out looking guilty. "How much did you hear?" I asked them.

"We kinda heard everything, but please hear us out! You see, we were kinda worried about you since you didn't seem like yourself, so we sort of followed you everywhere. You never told us you could sing or fly! That's so cool!" Ruby exclaimed excitedly at the end before getting punched in the arm by Weiss.

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Wait, so you're not mad?" Blake asked.

"No, if anything, I'm glad that you came." I admitted.

"Well you always helped us so we might as well repay the favor." Ruby smiled.

"It really means a lot. Since I'm done here, how about we head back." I suggested.

For some reason they got into a group huddle and discussed about something. They soon separated as Ruby walked up to me. "Fly us there." She smiled as did the rest.

"Seriously?"

"Come on, just fly us back. I'm pretty sure you can carry us." Yang persisted.

"Alright." I sighed. Carrying Ruby on my back, Blake in a bridal style fashion and having Yang and Weiss hold onto my arms, I looked back at mom's grave and saw her ghost waving and smiling at me. Blinking, I see that she's gone. I smiled and flew the girls back, knowing that mom will always be there for me.


	9. 09

Although the semester ended a few days ago and Christmas is two days away, I was given a mission by Ozpin. The mission was to arrive at a village a few miles outside the kingdom that requested help. Getting ready, I opened the window of my dorm, flying out as fast as I could.

'I still remember when Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch accidentally found out about my flying ability. Boy were they shocked.' I chuckled to myself.

Arriving at the area, I was able to only sense one person and looking around, I understood why. Bodies littered the area. 'The village's request must've came late since it looks likes it has been like this for a day or two. If only we'd get their message sooner, they would've made it out.' Continuing to look for the survivor, I discovered a collapsed home. Digging around, I saw an unconscious dog faunus girl with a light complexion and blue hair wearing a white dress. I carried her in my arms then made my way back to Beacon. I barged into the infirmary, shocking the nurse, but once she saw the girl, she took her from my arms to one of the rooms and laid her down on a bed and told me to wait outside.

 ** _Twenty agonizing minutes later_**

"Alright, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly did this happen?" She asked.

"I was sent by Ozpin to go help a village a few miles from Vale. Once I arrived, I walked around the forest and saw the village. Bodies littered the area and I found the girl underneath some rubble from a collapsed home." I explained.

"Well don't you worry, she should feel much better in a few hours." I felt instantly relieved when she said that.

"Thank you Mrs. Evans." I thanked her as she left me in the room. I decided to stay by the girl's side until she woke up. Waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, I see the girl open her eyes to reveal that they are a light shade of brown.

She looked at her surroundings before looking at me. "Who are you?" She asked me.

"My name is Idris and you're in the Beacon infirmary. What's your name?" I asked her.

"I'm Lyra. Where are my parents?" Upon asking, it looked like she remembered what happened as she began crying. I sprung up from my seat and hugged her immediately. "Mom, dad, everyone is dead!" She sobbed into my chest.

"Sorry I was too late to get there. Stuff like this is never easy but you're not alone." She stopped sobbing for a but after she heard me say that.

"What do you mean?" She asked with some tears on her face.

"I lost my mom a few months ago. She meant everything to me but I knew I had to move on because that is what she'd want. I'm sure your parents would want the same. So instead of being sad, you gotta be strong for them."

With the words setting in, Lyra cleaned her tears. "Thank you."

"No problem kiddo." I heard a knock on the door and turned to see Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch at the door.

"What a touching moment." He said with a smirk while Ms. Goodwitch had a smile of her own.

"Lyra, I would like you to meet Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch. Both are good friends of mine. He is the headmaster and she is a teacher here." I introduced them to her.

"Hello." She spoke with her head down, too shy to look at them.

"Ozpin, if you don't mind me asking, can Lyra stay in Beacon with me?" I asked him.

"Well it should be against school rules, but I'll gladly make an exception. That is if she wants to stay?" He asked looking at Lyra.

"I would love that." She answered.

"Then it's settled, she'll stay with Idris from now on. Oh and I brought some clothing for you." Ms. Goodwitch said, handing her some clothes. Lyra walked to the bathroom to change.

She stepped out dressed in a white blouse and a white skirt with red trimmings along with blue shoes. "These look great!" She cheered as her stomach growled loud enough for all of us to hear, making her blush like a tomato.

"It sounds like you're hungry. Let's go to the cafeteria and get you something to eat." Grabbing her, I took her to the cafeteria.

"It's huge!" She awed.

"I had the same reaction too when I first came here. The food's amazing so let's dig in!" After we got some food we sat at one of the tables. She looked at me skeptically when she saw how much I had on my plate.

All that skepticism turned to shock as I devoured everything. "I'm a big eater." I stated nonchalantly.

She ate her food and exhaled in satisfaction. "You were right, the food is amazing!"

"Told you." We took the time to get to know more about one another and once it was getting late, we left the cafeteria and headed to the dorms. "Well it's getting late, let's go to our dorm."

Arriving, I opened the door. "This is where you're going to live, what do you think?"

"It's big and the view is great!" She looked out the window.

"The room is supposed to fit a team, but since I don't have one, I just have one bed. I could ask for another bed if you'd like?" I asked her.

"No, besides your bed looks big enough for the both of us." Well she isn't lying, this bed was made for two people mostly because I like the space. Handing her an extra pair of shorts and a shirt, she went to change.

After changing, she sat on the bed and looked around. "Who's this?" She asked pointing to a certain photo.

I sat alongside her. "That's my mom and I from when I turned six. Which reminds me, I still haven't told you."

"Told me what?" She asked.

"Think of it as a bedtime story." I said seeing her squeal in excitement. She handled it pretty well for a thirteen year old although she gave me a boatload of questions. Other than that, she fully believed me. Changing into black sweatpants and a gray shirt, I laid on the bed seeing that she fell asleep.

 _ **One day till Christmas**_

Tomorrow is Christmas and as much as I would love to celebrate it with my friends, they left to see their families. All except for Blake, Nora, and Ren.

Getting ready, I see that it was twelve in the afternoon so I tried waking Lyra up. "It's time to get up."

"Five more minutes." She mumbled.

"Oh well I guess you don't want to go shopping for Christmas supplies. After all, it is Christmas tomorrow." I said, causing her to snap her eyes open and get up with excitement.

"I'll be ready in ten seconds!" She said running to the bathroom, showering, and getting dressed in the clothes Ms. Goodwitch gave her yesterday. "Let's go!" She eagerly exclaimed.

"We'll go, but first I have to ask some people to come with us." I said.

"Who?" She asked.

"You'll see." Walking to Team RWBY's dorm, I knocked lightly.

The door opened to reveal Blake in a gray robe. "Hey Blake." I greeted.

"Morning Idris, what do you need?" She yawned rubbing her eyes.

"I was wondering if you'd like to come with me for some Christmas shopping?" I asked.

"Well I was planning on doing some stuff, but sure why not. Just let me get dressed." She answered.

"She's pretty. Is she your girlfriend?" Lyra asked from behind me making me blush.

"Oh yeah, I would like you to meet Lyra. Don't worry, I'll explain everything later." I told Blake. While Blake was changing, I went to Team JNPR's dorm to ask Nora and Ren the same thing and they agreed.

 _ **Vale**_

After everyone got ready, we headed out. I walked alongside Blake and Ren while Nora was playing with Lyra.

"And that's how I met her." I finished explaining.

"Wow. She's handling herself pretty well after what happened." Blake said with some sadness.

"Well I gave her some advice that made her feel better. I also told her about the whole other world thing."

"How'd she take it?" Ren asked.

"She believed me, although she asked me a lot of questions." I chuckled.

"Hey, let's get some ice cream!" Nora said running towards an ice cream shop. We got some vanilla ice cream unlike Lyra and Nora who both got a huge ice cream sundae.

"Um are you sure you can eat all of that?" I asked them.

"If you can eat a mountain of food and not get sick, then I can definitely eat this." Lyra spoke with confidence.

"Alright if you say so." I shrugged.

True to her word, she was eating everything. That is until she received a major brain freeze causing the rest of us to laugh. After we all finished eating, I carried her then left with everyone.

"Wanna go get a Christmas tree Lyra?" I asked her.

I think her brain freeze cured immediately because she sat up quickly. "Yes! Onward!" She pointed forward and yelled.

We arrived at a store where they sell Christmas trees that varied in size and appearance. "Feel free to look around." She took around ten minutes until finding the right tree with some help from Nora.

"This one!" She said pointing to a medium-sized tree. "And it's only fifty lien."

"Alright." Walking up to the girl at the counter. "Excuse me miss, I'd like to buy that tree." I said pointing to the tree.

"Of course. That'll be fifty lien." Handing her the money, I requested if it can be shipped to Beacon. She said it was possible. Thanking her, we left the shop to buy some ornaments.

 _ **Two hours later**_

"Alright, now that we have everything we need, we should go back to prepare." I said.

"Oh I can't wait!" Lyra excitedly cheered.

"I'll admit, today was fun." Blake said with a smile.

On the way to escorting them to the rest to their rooms, I noticed that Lyra fell asleep on my back. "Well here we are. Thanks you all for coming with us. It really means a lot." I thanked them. "Especially to her."

Blake smiled. "I had a great time."

"We should totally do this again!" Nora said with Ren nodding in agreement.

"Goodnight everyone." Saying goodbye, I went back to my room and tucked in Lyra. I took the liberty of setting everything up quietly so she can rest as well as flying back to Vale to buy everyone a gift.

 _ **Christmas day**_

"Come on Idris wake up!" I hear. Opening my eyes slowly I see Lyra jumping on the bed.

"Oh hey." I yawned tiredly.

"Get up lazy head, it's Christmas and the tree looks great!"

"It took a while to decorate it since you were asleep. Oh and I see someone left a gift for you under the tree." I sat up and pointed to a box in red gift wrapping. She ran and slid, getting her hand on the gift, quickly opening it and gasped, pulling out a silver locket. "You'll love it more if you open it."I suggested. She did what I said and saw that inside the locket was a picture of her and her parents. "I went back to your village and found this for you, something so you can never forget why you are alive."

She ran up and hugged me, feeling her tears on my shirt. "Thank you so much…"

"Merry Christmas Lyra."

"Who's the other gift for?" She looked at the box in black gift wrapping. "Oh I know who's it for." She gained a smile. "It's for Blake isn't it." She teased.

"Yeah, it's a gift for her spending time with us. I also got one for Ren and Nora." I said with slight embarrassment. "Please wait here while I go give it to them."

Stepping out of the room, I walked to JNPR's room and knocked. Nora opened the door. "Merry Christmas!" She exclaimed.

"Merry Christmas Nora! These are for you and Ren." I said handing her the gifts.

"Thanks!"

"No, thank you for coming along with us."

Going to Blake's room, she opened up the door. "Morning Blake."

"Hello." She yawned.

"Sorry to interrupt your sleep, but I'm here to give you this." I handed her the gift. "It's my way of saying thanks for hanging out with Lyra and I."

"Thank you although I'm sorry for not getting you one in return." She apologized.

"It's no trouble. I'll see you later." I walked back to my room to see Lyra looking at me with another teasing look.

"Did you kiss her now?" She asked.

Once more, a blush spread. "You're going to continue teasing me about this aren't you?" I dreadfully asked.

"Yep." She answered popping the last letter.


	10. 10

It begins once more. Vacation time is over and it is back to the old grind. It'll be nice seeing everyone again though. A few days before second semester started, I asked Ozpin if he could enroll Lyra in Signal Academy. Now she is a first year in Signal. Hopefully she gets along with the other kids, if not, I'll surely knock some heads. Ruby messaged me saying to meet everyone at the cafeteria. Getting dressed in the school uniform, I walked around and saw Sun walking with a guy that has messy light blue hair, dark blue eyes and looked to be his height. He was dressed in a white dress shirt and black tie under a red jacket with a wide, upturned, black collar and a pair of gray jeans with black padding strapped to the sides. The back of his jacket displays a silver reticle. He wore black shoes that are fastened with straps, rather than laces. He also has black fingerless gloves and a pair of yellow-tinted goggles worn on his forehead.

"Hey Sun, who's this?" I greeted and asked.

"This is Neptune, he and I are on a team together." He said.

"So you're the guy Sun was talking about." Neptune responded.

"That depends, how much talking did he do?" I eyed Sun suspiciously.

"No worries bro, it's safe with me." Neptune swore.

"In that case Neptune, my name is Idris and it's a pleasure to meet you." I shook his hand while looking at Sun, mentally declaring payback. "So what are you guys doing here?" I asked them.

"We just came to visit." Sun said.

"That's great." I said. "Where are you guys headed?"

"Cafeteria." Sun said. "Thinking of getting something good to eat and introduce him to everyone Since I was going the same way, I joined them. On the way there Sun was talking about that day at the docks to Neptune who enjoyed the story meanwhile I waved at some people. Sun also blurted out Blake being a faunus and quickly made Neptune promise not to tell.

"You really have a lot of trouble keeping secrets to yourself don't you Sun?" I smiled at him.

"I just don't wanna screw this up you know?" Sun said as we got closer to our destination. "The people here are the coolest. No offense to you guys."

"None taken." Neptune shook his head. I began noticing food stains appearing on the windows of the cafeteria. As well as Jaune being thrown at a window.

"Ok they're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them so be cool ok? You're gonna be cool right?" Sun asked.

"Dude." Neptune struck a cool pose while smiling.

"Good point." Sun agreed.

We entered the building to see every student evacuating the building while one student screamed food fight. It looked like a mess already.

"Ah ha ha ha! I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" I see Nora announce standing atop of a massive stack of tables on the other side of the building along with Ren, Jaune, and Pyrrha.

Ruby stomped onto a table causing some plates to fall off and shatter. "Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" She squeezed the milk carton she was holding. "It will be delicious!" She raised her fist charging at Team JNPR with Weiss, Yang, and Blake by her side.

What happened next literally wins the trophy for epic food fight.

"Off with their heads!" Queen Nora instructed. JNPR began throwing watermelons to Team RWBY as Yang ran ahead, placing her hands in two turkeys and attacked with her fists. Blake soon joined her by grabbing two baguettes and fighting of the watermelon attack. Yang then launched the turkeys to Jaune hitting him with both as Pyrrha grabbed a baguette and fought Blake. She was able to throw Blake back and began launching baguettes to Yang knocking her back. Ruby slid into the action with a lunch tray and jumped to push Pyrrha back. Ren and Nora charged forward as Ruby stepped aside letting Weiss spray a line of ketchup on the floor making Ren slip into a couple of tables making them fly. Nora jumped on a table and grabbed a small pole implanting it into a watermelon and slamming the floor sending Ruby back. Weiss then grabbed a swordfish and fought Nora. Her speed proved no match as Nora overpowered her sending her straight into a pillar crumbling it.

Ruby caught Weiss while Yang continued her assault by grabbing to turkeys fighting Ren who had grabbed to celery sticks. She slammed Ren down and Nora came in. Nora was able to send Yang flying and I mean flying because Yang went through the ceiling. Blake equipped sausage links and used it like a whip to send Nora into soda machines. Nora grabbed soda cans and threw them at Blake. Pyrrha touched the floor activating her semblance causing the cans around her to rise from the ground. Massive waves of cans flew slamming Blake into the wall before stopping. Seeing her fallen team, Ruby crouched then began running full power semblance and all. Twisting herself into a spiral, everything around her was sucked into a twister. She hit the brakes when she reached the other side cracking the wall with a shockwave and jumped. All of Team JNPR was slammed into the wall from all the speed and was soon pulverized with food creating a cool mural as Ruby and JNPR landed on the floor.

"I love these guys." Sun said to Neptune who was covered in grape soda. How he got drenched and we didn't, I don't know.

Ms. Goodwitch barged through the door angrily and waved her wand fixing every bit of damage in the room. "Children please, do not play with your food." She said seriously. Nora burped and Yang came back through the ceiling landing on a table destroying it in the process.

"Let it go." Ozpin came and put his hand on Ms. Goodwitch's shoulder.

She sighed. "They're supposed to be the defenders of the world."

"And they will be." Ozpin added. "But right now they are still children. So why not let them play the part? After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever." Ozpin said walking away with her following him.

"Well I'm going to go get clean and you're helping." Neptune said dragging Sun with him.

I looked back at both RWBY and JNPR. "You all seriously have to tell me when you're preparing to do cool stuff like this. Overall, I'd say that it was the most epic food fight ever."

"Idris!" Nora ran up and hugged me covering me in food, not that I mind it anyways.

Blake walked up to me. "Thanks again for your gift." She pointed to her new bow with a green outline.

"No problem, also I was able to get Lyra into Signal Academy since she is old enough to go." I informed her.

"That's good." She said.

"Now if you excuse me, I have some cleaning to do." I referred to the splotches of food on me. Beacon life sure is great.

 _ **After classes**_

I got a message saying that Ozpin wanted to see me. Walking to his office, I see him and Ms. Goodwitch talking to a black and gray haired man wearing a white overcoat, with a gray undercoat, alongside a red tie, and a white glove on his right hand. He also seems to have a strip of metal on his forehead. Weird.

"What'd you need?" I asked, interrupting their conversation.

"Ah Idris, I would like you to meet an old friend of mine, James Ironwood." Ozpin introduced.

"Hello sir." I extended my hand.

He took my hand in his. "Greetings."

"What were you all talking about?" I asked.

"We were discussing about future preparations for the Vytal Festival." Ironwood spoke.

"What kind of preparations?" I asked.

"Well Ironwood thought it was best to transport hundreds of soldiers here for the purpose of protection. You seem like a man with a good grasp in strategics, what are your thoughts?" Ozpin pointed out.

"In all due fairness, doing this would ruin the cheerful feeling of the festival. If there is a problem then we will deal handle it our way without ruining the celebration." I admitted.

"My thoughts exactly." Ozpin agreed.

"Alright then, but let me ask you this, do you really believe that your children can win a war?" These were Ironwood's last words before leaving the room.

I turned to Ozpin. "Don't worry, as long as I'm around, there won't be much of a war to begin with. Especially since I've been training so much."

"Thank you." Ozpin said.

"Quick question. Since Lyra is now in Signal, will she continue staying with me or will she live on her own in Vale?" I asked.

"I have an old friend who can take care of her for you if that's what you want?" He suggested.

"That'll be great also, should she be needing my help for anything, if it is alright to take some days off from classes in order to help her out."

"That can be arranged but you will have to ask the professors as well so you can get their work done early which will grant you those days you are requesting."

"That's fine by me, thank you." I nodded and went to the elevator, going down. The elevator door opened to which I walked out and began making my way back to my dorm room to get some work done. 'Okay with that done, what else do I have to do?' I thought to myself, starting to reassess some priorities. 'I got Port's project, Oobleck's paper, Peach's presentation, The presentation only needs two more slides, a majority of the paper is already done, just need a conclusion. Lastly when it comes to Port's project I definitely need to work on that detailed sketch of the biology of a berin-' My thoughts were interrupted when I bumped into someone. I saw that it was Blake and blushed a bit. "I'm sorry about that Blake."

She had a bit of a blush on herself too. "No, I should've been watching where I was going."

"So uh where were you headed?"

"I was...going to the library to check out some more books to read, do you...by any chance want to join me?"

"Uh sure yeah, I have some time to kill." I nodded quickly and walked with her all the way to the library, making some small talk along the way. "I am telling you that Oobleck just drinks regular coffee."

"But at the rate he moves, talks, and jitters, there is no way that could be regular coffee." She argued.

"Take it from the guy who spent time in his class before school started, it is regular coffee unless…" I trailed off, catching her interest.

She raised her eyebrow. "Unless what?"

"Unless he was, you know…" I pretended to cut something repeatedly and sniffed real hard which got a small laugh out of her when she realized what I was insinuating.

"I honestly doubt that he does any kind of drugs."

"I know, but it made you laugh which is good." We made it to the library and after a couple of minutes of her stacking books along with checking them out, we left the library with me carrying fifteen books. "You really read all these alongside doing all the homework and training?"

She nodded as she took a book off the stack and started reading. "Yes, yes I do. How about you, do you read?"

I shook my head, trying to make sure the stack doesn't collapse. "Never been much of a reader in my previous life or this one, well more so that I have yet to find a book that catches my eye. That and training keeps me more focused which is why I do that more than read like you do."

"Then maybe I'll find you a book to read, I have a bunch of them in multiple shelves, I'm sure there might be one you might like."

"Alright, I'll hold you up to that." We reached her dorm room and I had to bend my knees just so I can barely go through the door. She directed me where to leave the books and I set them down on the desk. I turned to look at the multiple shelves filled with books. "You were right but that seems way more than a bunch doesn't it?"

She shrugged. "It's a bunch to me and thanks for going with me."

I nodded. "No problem, I'll be on my way then." I walked out the door and made it back to my dorm, getting started on my homework.


	11. 11

I was in the middle of drawing something for Port's class when I heard a knock on the door. Unfortunately that knock startled me, causing me to make a long stray line across the sketch, thankfully it was in pencil which mean that it could be erased. Walking to the door, I open it up to see the girls dressed in different clothing than usual although Ruby kept her cloak. "You all going out somewhere?" I asked them. "If so, be safe out there."

"We are and we are wondering if you'd like to help?" Weiss asked. "If anything goes bad, you can no doubt help us take care of the problem before any serious damage is made."

"Well I was sketching some things out but I guess that can wait. Give me a few moments." Putting my stuff away, I changed into my gear and left with them.

I was assigned to go with Yang and Neptune as they drove on Yang's motorcycle to a club while I flew and landed in front of the club just as she parked. "Come on my friend's right in here." She told Neptune who looked rather dizzy.

"Cool." He shook his head regaining his senses. "And where exactly is here?" He asked as he got off the bike slowly.

At the entrance, Yang reeled her fist back. "Yang stop!" I held her gauntlet, remembering that this was Junior's place. "Let's just walk in without causing any trouble." I opened the door as the three of us walked in.

"Guess who's back!" She announced, smiling as multiple guns were pointed at her and the music was turned off for now.

"Yeah so can you define friend for me?" Neptune asked behind Yang.

"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot!" A large man with black hair and beard in a suit said walking through the crowd of armed men. "Blondie... you're here... why?" He asked rather confused then looked at me. "Wait kid, you're with her?"

"Wait you know him?" Yang asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah. I came across this place during my first day in Vale since I didn't know where to go. He told me the directions and I, in return, offered to help clean this place up after a blonde, who I am now guessing was you, destroyed the place."

"Well, he still owes me a drink." Yang said dragging the large man to the bar.

"Woah what a woman." Neptune awed. He turned to see two black haired twins with green eyes. One in a white dress with blades attached to her heels, the other in a red dress wearing gloves that have claws on them. "Sup." He said.

The girls turned and walked away. "Whatever." They simultaneously said.

"Smooth Neptune. Absolutely smooth." I teased.

"Oh shut up." He frowned then went to the bar to meet up with Yang, leaving me here.

"Great, now what do I do?" I was never really used to clubs that much, they are too loud for my liking. Oh well, might as well take a seat and wait for Yang and Neptune to finish speaking with Junior. Taking a seat somewhere at a booth, I looked around and noticed the usual thing which is people getting drunk then dancing the night away. Only thing that sucked more was the fact that being a saiyan also meant that my sense of smell was also stronger and the place reeked of alcohol, strong cologne, and a lot of perfume. Resting my head on the table, I grabbed my earbuds and decided to listen to music for a bit. I felt someone tapping my shoulder and I look up to see it was the two girls that rejected Neptune. "Oh it's you two. Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Idris, what are yours?"

"I'm Melanie." The one in white introduced herself.

"And I'm Miltiades or Miltia for short." The one in red introduced herself.

"Well it's lovely meeting you both. What brings you here because seeing on how you two hold yourselves, you wouldn't talk to a simple guy like me?"

"You're right, we wouldn't be caught dead with someone so common, but we decided to make an exception for a bit." Melanie spoke. "We saw what you did for our uncle, that was pretty nice of you. Not many people offer help around here unless they wanna get paid in the end."

"It was no problem, it was the least I could do to repay him for helping me with directions. Now how can I help you two nice girls like yourselves?" I asked as they gave me a small smile.

"Bit of a flirt aren't you? You aren't really that bad yourself. Why don't you and I go on a little stroll together?" Miltia suggested.

"I think he'd rather go with me." Melanie corrected.

"Why don't we both take him, won't hurt to share and I think he can handle both of us."

"Sorry but my heart is already spoken for and there is no way for it to change."

"Are you sure?"

"Come on Idris, we're leaving!" Yang called out as her and Neptune were walking out.

"Definitely sure, it was a pleasure meeting you both. I'll see you later." I met up with Yang and Neptune outside to see them both getting ready to go. "What I miss and what's our next step?"

"Blake and Sun are in trouble, we'll go on ahead, and you try to catch up." Yang instructed as she sped away. Quickly sensing Blake and Sun's energy, I flew as fast as I can meanwhile keeping a low profile. I caught up with them to see that they are being chased by a giant robot with Yang and Neptune behind them on a freeway. The robot began throwing cars around as Yang expertly dodged them all. Neptune took out his weapon and shot the robot before transforming it into a trident and jumping off to stab its back. Sun attacked the robot but was thrown off the highway because the robot threw Neptune at him. Weiss jumped off from above then created a patch of ice making the robot slip and fall off the highway.

Landing alongside the girls, they equipped their weapons. "Freezerburn!" Ruby called out. She and Blake jumped back as Weiss once again created a patch of ice with Yang slamming down on it with a fiery punch causing a mist to appear.

The robot had laser sensors activated so I blasted each sensor with a small energy beam. Ruby launched herself directly at it, striking it with her scythe. "Checkmate!" Weiss and Blake began unleashing a combo of strikes before dodging the missiles the robot launched. More were shot as I ran in front of Blake and Weiss, projecting a barrier and negating the attack.

"Ladybug!" I dissolved the barrier letting Blake and Ruby strike the robot multiple times then successfully cutting off an arm. Yang jumped onto the robot and started punching it repeatedly before being pushed through two support beams then punched through one more.

"Yang!" Blake yelled worriedly.

"Don't worry. With each hit she gets stronger and she uses that energy to fight back. That's what makes her special." Ruby said calming Blake down.

Yang rose up from the ground with fiery blonde hair. The robot unleashed another punch only to be blocked by Yang who stared it down with red eyes. Giving a punch of her own, she destroyed the arm easily before being promptly kicked back.

"Bumblebee!" Blake threw her weapon attached to a ribbon at Yang who caught it and began running in a circular motion.

"We have to slow it down!" Ruby said.

"I got this!" Holding my hand out, I shot a shockwave that slowed it down momentarily which was enough time for Yang to come full circle and completely obliterate the machine revealing that it was Torchwick who was operating the robot.

"Just got this thing cleaned." He observed the damages and dusted himself off. Yang shot a shotgun shell at him but was deflected by a pink umbrella that belonged to a short girl with brown and pink hair whose left eye was a pink color while the other was brown. She's wears a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants, and gray boots with very high heels. Under her jacket is a black corset, curved in the middle and at the bottom, exposing her hips.

"Ladies, monkey...ice queen." Torchwick spoke.

"Hey!" Weiss said offended.

"Always a pleasure." He waved. "Neo if you would." He referred to the girl who just showed up. Neo curtsied with a confident smile causing Yang to rush towards them. Yang punched at Neo only for Neo and the man to be replaced by glass that has now shattered. We see them leaving on an airship with Yang returning to normal.

"So I guess he got a new henchmen." Yang said.

"Yeah I guess she really made our plans...fall apart." Weiss joked getting a giggle from Ruby.

"No, just no." Yang said putting her hands on her hips while Blake walked away.

"What but you do it." Weiss put her hands on her hips.

"There's a time and a place for jokes."

"Was this not it?" Weiss asked.

"No, it just wasn't very good." Yang walked away.

"Well at least I'm trying." Weiss followed.

"Guess her dreams of making jokes were shattered there." I spoke, getting a smile from Blake and Ruby.

"Wait where are Sun and Neptune?" Ruby asked.

"They're fine." I yawned. "I don't know about you girls, but I'm definitely going to go back to finish my work."


	12. 12

_**Combat class**_

So Pyrrha is going up against all of Team CRDL and she has cleaned up shop. She handled them easily. The only thing wrong was the fact that Cardin hit his teammate before trying to hit Pyrrha. The lights turned on showing Pyrrha standing victorious and Cardin on the floor holding his stomach.

"And that's the match." Ms. Goodwitch walked towards the arena.

"Lucky shot." Cardin painfully said before passing out.

"Well done Ms. Nikos! You should have no problem qualifying for the tournament." She complemented.

"Thank you Professor." Pyrrha nodded.

"Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?" She asked the class then looked at Blake. "Ms. Belladonna, you've been rather docile these past few classes, why don't yo-"

"I'll do it." A gray haired guy wearing a gray and black jacket, gray jeans, black boots, and fingerless gloves raised his hand.

"Mercury is it? Very well, let's find you an opponent."

"Actually, I wanna fight... her." He pointed to Pyrrha.

"Me?" Pyrrha asked surprised.

"I'm afraid that Ms. Nikos just finished a match. I recommend you choose another partner." said Ms. Goodwitch.

"I got it." I raised my hand and jumped over the railing.

"Alright then, it'll be Idris versus Mercury." She announced as we got prepared.

"Kick his butt!" Nora yelled.

Mercury began by running up to me attempting a spin kick. Raising my arm, I blocked it and grabbed his leg then tossing him back. I charged at him and gave a kick of my own only for him to block it. He lashed out a barrage of kicks as I would dodge my way out of them. Kicking it up a notch, I grabbed his leg again and punched his stomach then his face, dropping him. He jumped back and charged at me again. We continued blocking each other's attacks. Faking a punch, I moved under his leg and swept his leg before hitting him back with my tail.

"I forfeit." He said before jumping back onto his feet.

"That quickly?" I asked.

"What's the point, I'm obviously outmatched." He shrugged.

I smiled. 'I can tell that he wasn't giving it his all. He's rather intent on finding out more about his opponent than attacking. The malice in his energy means that he is here for a different reason.'

"In that case, Idris is the victor of the match. That is all for today and remember the dance is this weekend but you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses. Dismissed."

I walked up to Mercury. "Thanks for going easy on me although next time we spar, step your game up so I won't have to go as easy as I did with you. Ok pumpkin?" I caught him slightly off guard with that remark then made my way outside of the classroom, catching up with Team RWBY. "Hey Blake." They all turned. Now or never. "Would you please go to the dance with me, that is, if you would want to go?" My tail swung lightly in nervousness.

"I don't have time for a stupid dance, you should know the reason why as well. Leave me alone." She left with a harsh tone.

Feeling horrible, I walked away. "Dude what happened?" Sun placed his hand on my shoulder.

"So this is what rejection feels like." I sighed. "What a sucky feeling."

"She's probably tired, you just have to wait." Sun said. "Try again later when she gets whatever's bugging her out of her system."

"You've got a good point. Thanks." I regained my usual attitude.

"So let me introduce you to the rest of my team. This is Sage." He pointed to a guy with sage green hair, dark skin, and gold eyes. He's wearing a white and green long coat with asymmetrical sleeves and no shirt underneath, displaying his tattooed chest. His jacket also has a golden pauldron on his right shoulder and a golden cuff around his left wrist. He also wears a pair of dark pants with a yellow belt.

"And this is Scarlet." He pointed to the other guy. Scarlet has red hair that comes down over his right eye, with the left side of his head being shaved. There are red markings around his left eye. He wears a green earring on his left ear, and has a red coat draped over the left side. On his right hand, he wore a fingerless glove, and on his right bicep, he has a gray band. He wears a white sleeveless shirt and light gray pants. He also wears a pair of long, brown, laced boots. Around his waist, he wears a slightly slanted gray belt.

"Nice to meet you both, my name's Idris." I introduced myself receiving a nod from both of them. After speaking with them for a bit, I walked to Ozpin's office. "Hey Ozpin." I waved.

"What brings you to my office?" He asked while sitting behind his desk.

"I was wondering if you'd allow me to bring Lyra and a friend of hers as guests for the dance this weekend. In return I clean up after it is over."

He smiled. "You know that I would've agreed without that extra stipulation but since it was made by you, I'll allow it."

"Thank you sir." I walked out of his office and called Lyra.

"Hey Idris what do you need? I'm kinda busy working on homework so I need you to make it snappy."

"Well Beacon is having a dance this weekend and I just asked Ozpin if he'll let me bring you and a friend along as guests." I said.

"No way really?! What'd he say?" She asked anxiously.

"He said yes."

"Awesome!" She cheered in excitement. "You're the best!"

"Just doing what I can for my little sis. Oh and it's on Sunday. I'll talk to you later."

"Ok bye." She hung up.

Entering my room, I only had one thing in mind. I laid down on my bed and played some music before sleeping.

 _ **Day of the dance**_

Well it's time. Dressed in a dark green button up shirt with a cross on the back, black pants, and black dress shoes, I waited at the landing area. An airship came in dropping some people off to which I spotted Lyra in a black and white dress alongside a girl her age. "Hey little sis, glad you could make it." I smiled and opened my arms up, motioning her to hug me.

She ran up and jumped onto me as I twirled her around, seeing a wide smile on her face. "It's been so long since I've seen you!"

"Hasn't been that long since you would call me whenever you wanted to hang out."

"So this is your big brother?" I hear her friend ask.

"Yes and this is my best friend Ellie." She introduced her to me. Ellie is a deer faunus who had blue eyes, chestnut colored hair, same colored antlers, and wore a white dress with a silver outline.

"Hello Ellie, I hope she hasn't gotten into any trouble in Signal." I greeted her with a smile.

"She hasn't." Ellie answered with a smile on her face.

On the way to the ballroom, I noticed Ellie gazing at everything around us. "So what do you think of Beacon so far?"

"It's beautiful! I'm definitely coming here once I graduate from Signal."

"Well here we are." I opened the ballroom door to reveal many students dancing and having a good time. "There are a few hours left till it ends so have fun." I said as they ran ahead of me. Taking a few steps in myself, I saw Yang in a dazzling white dress. "Hey Yang, quite the head turner you're wearing. Hopefully you don't overshadow every girl here or the claws will be coming out."

"Thanks and you my friend look handsome." She smiled.

"Hey Idris." I turned to see Ruby in a red dress with a black sash around the waist and a black mesh fabric on her upper back.

"Wow Ruby, you look beautiful."

"Thanks." She blushed. "You look great too. Although these heels are hard to walk with." She stumbled a bit.

I held back a chuckle for her sake. "I can certainly see that."

We hear the door open and see Blake in a beautiful purple dress walking towards me. My heart began thumping and I felt a bit warm. "Sorry about the way I acted. I feel like such a jerk." She apologized.

I calmed myself down and smiled. "No worries, due to everything that's passed, I should've known how you felt. You sure are stunning."

"Wanna dance?" She asked me.

"Sure but I must warn you, a rock would make a better dancer than me."

She gave me a small smile. "I'll teach you then." She led me to the dance floor. We both danced two songs before taking a break. I saw Ozpin and Ruby talking so I started walking towards them.

"It's not every day that we see friends come together like this. Time has a way of testing our bonds but it's nights like these that can help keep it stronger than ever. Nights like these are ones we'll never forget." I heard Ozpin say. After he said that, I started having flashbacks of my old life...The friends and family I left behind.

"Idris you ok?" Ruby asked worriedly.

"Yeah I'm fine." I shook my head lightly.

With uncertainty, Ruby went to go get something to drink while Ozpin and I remained in the same place. "Do you ever regret coming to Remnant?" He asked me.

"Honestly...sometimes. I was meant to be an uncle by now."

"You had siblings?"

"I was the middle child of five. Two older sisters and two younger brothers. My second older sister was preparing to give birth during the time of my departure from Earth. This means that I will never get the chance to see my nephew. I bet that he was gonna be very adorable then very troubling as he grew."

"Think of it like this. If you weren't here then Lyra wouldn't be having this kind of life and remember the bond you've built with Team RWBY and JNPR. With Ms. Belladonna especially." Ozpin added.

"How did you-"

"It seems pretty obvious to me that you want to be something more with her."

I looked up at him smiling. "Really? That obvious?"

"Well am I wrong?" He smiled.

"No, no, you're right. I do want to be more than just friends with her, and today is my best chance. Although I still got things to do." I walked to where Ren and Nora were and sat with them. "Hey you two, long time no see. Sorry I've been so busy."

"Certainly has been." Ren said with Nora hugging me.

"I could never forget my first friends." I looked around and saw Penny dancing albeit being guarded by two men. We all talked to one another before hearing a massive amount of laughter. Turning around I see Jaune in a white dress walking towards Pyrrha who's in a bright red dress as the music stopped.

A few seconds passed and a dance song started playing. "Ren, this is happening!" Nora yelled excitedly.

"Wait what's happening?" Ren asked then was dragged by Nora. People gathered in a circle to see all of Team JNPR dancing in a choreographed fashioned. After their dance, I walked outside to see Ruby walking to the transmit tower where I can feel decreasing energy levels. Flying to the top of the tower, I saw a masked woman with black hair, and black clothing sitting at the main monitor.

I held a finger out to her and shot a small ki beam at the monitor, stopping her from what she was doing. She had jumped back from the small blast and looked at me. I went through the window and touch the floor. "You wouldn't be trying to hack into the tower now would you?"

She smiled. "And what if I was?"

"Then I'd have to turn you in."

She stood and made two swords appear out of thin air and I took off my button up, showing my white tank top underneath then set the button up aside somewhere. then began slashing at me. Channeling energy into my index fingers, I blocked her attacks repeatedly and pushed her back with an invisible ki blast, sending her into one of the monitors. The swords vanished and a bow appeared in her hands with three arrows ready to shoot. She shot all three and I caught each one to which they blew up in my hand immediately after, tossing me back into a monitor, cracking it. Once the smoke cleared, she was nowhere to be found and the elevator opened to show Ruby walking in. "I heard an explosion, what happened?!"

I picked myself up off the ground and dusted myself off. "Someone broke in, luckily I came in just in time to stop that person from doing whatever they were doing but she escaped. I'll tell you more about it later cause right now we gotta go back and I gotta ice my hand." We returned to the dance and I felt the same energy from that woman we fought nearby. Not worrying about it now, I proceeded to enjoy the night. Lyra got me to dance with her for a while before I danced the last song with Blake. What I didn't expect was that it was a slow song. At the last moments before it ended, she gave me a small kiss on the cheek making my knees kinda weak which went unnoticed…hopefully.

Time passed and everyone started leaving the ballroom. Helping out with cleaning, I was hugged from behind by Lyra. "Thanks for a wonderful time!"

"It's the least I can do. Oh that reminds me." Walking to Team RWBY and JNPR, I introduced Lyra and Ellie. They had more questions but it had to wait for some other time.

After everyone got associated with one another, I began escorting the girls back to the airship. Ellie boarded but Lyra stayed behind and looked at me. "Thanks for bringing us."

"Yeah, too bad it couldn't last longer."

"I agree. Oh and I saw that kiss that Blake gave you." She had a mischievous smile.

My face started going red and I avoided looking at her. "You did huh?"

"Yep. So does this mean that you and her are a thing now?"

"I don't know...I've never actually felt this way before…Feels weird honestly…"

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure she'll enjoy being with you. Bye." The airship started leaving. I waved goodbye to her when she saw me from the window.

I sighed and walked back to the ballroom to see that it was a big mess since some of the students got a bit too wild. I took off my button up, showing the white tank top I had underneath and rubbed my hands together, grabbing the mop that was left next to the door. "Alright, shouldn't be too hard."

I started off by mopping the floor and picking up any trash I could find and the tablecloths that were beyond washable, throwing it into the garbage can as if I was shooting baskets. Seeing as how a couple of napkins were left, I rolled them up into a ball and held it between both of my hands and jogged towards the garbage can in a zigzag fashion. "With five seconds left on the clock, Idris passes through everyone like a slithering snake. This could be his career defining moment in the Remnant Basketball Association. Five...four...three...two...one..." I threw the napkin ball and made a buzzing noise just as it made it in. "And he did it! He made the shot, winning the game for Beacon! The crowd goes wild!" I cupped my hands around my mouth and started quietly screaming to make it seem like there was a crowd. "Ahhhhh!"

Hearing someone clapping, I saw Blake still in her dress. "Impressive shot but shouldn't you be cleaning?"

"What are you doing here, I thought you'd be asleep by now?"

"There was an afterparty and I was wondering where you were then I heard that you were cleaning up by yourself so I came over to help."

"Thanks although there isn't much to help with since I took care of it all, that's why I was taking a small break." Looking around, the room was spotless and all the tables and chairs were folded up and set against the wall.

"Then I guess you wouldn't mind walking me back do you?"

"I would not mind for I am a gentleman who must assist a fair lady back safely." I spoke dramatically and grabbed the button up, tossing it onto my shoulder then holding my arm out to her.

"Oh my, what good manners." She wrapped her arm around mine and we walked out of the ballroom.

"Tonight was a good night." I told her.

"In what way?"

"Just like Ozpin told me, nights like these where everyone is having fun without a care in the world is one of the best things in the world. Plus, I got to spend this time with you."

"I would say the same but you were there."

I held my hand on my heart and leaned back. "Ouch, and I thought you were cold the last time we talked, maybe they should call you Ice Queen instead of Weiss."

She returned my smile with one of her own. "I was joking."

"Sure you were."

"I was."

"Really?"

"I'm serious."

"Really?"

"You're such a pest."

I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight. "But I'm your pest." I let go of her but still kept hold of her hands and sighed. "I've been meaning to tell you ever since the time we both ran from Beacon. Blake, you've interested me since day one and I didn't know why until that day, the day I got to know the real you. I've been holding back on saying this because I was afraid that you didn't feel the same but I might as well say it now instead of it staying buried deep. I want to be more than just friends Blake. I love you and want nothing but y-"

Blake interrupted me with a long kiss. After a few seconds, she stopped the kiss and smiled with a big blush. "I feel the same way." I had this big smile on my face when she said that and couldn't speak at all. All I could do was bring her in for one more kiss and not want to let go.


	13. 13

_**?**_

It was happening again...

Walking around the woods, my younger self stood in front of a big tree and pulled his hand back. He swung his fist and hit it with all his might. Cracks began to appear and sure enough, it fell down with a large thud once it got the ground. The dust caused by the tree falling settled, he clapped my hands together then spread them out and grabbed a hold of each side of the tree.

He had taken a deep breath and attempted to lift the tree. The struggle lasted for a bit but surely he was able to lift it over his head. He walked all the way back home then set it down before sitting in front of it to catch his breath and wiped the sweat from his face.

"You really should stop doing stuff like that, you're gonna end up hurting yourself if you do." My real mother spoke, the silhouette still hiding her identity.

"I'm doing it so I can become super strong." Out of nowhere, my younger self and I heard a click and something flew past him and into mom's arm. She screamed as she hit the floor, holding her arm.

Hearing some rustling, we turned our heads to see a giant man in a mask with a white uniform jump out of a tree. "That should keep her down long enough." My younger self turned to him and was angry ."Come on kid, you're free, the bad people can't hurt you anymore."

"The only bad person is you!" He yelled at the man.

"That woman must've done something to you. Some sort of spell. This should do the trick."

He pointed his gun at her again and he got even more mad. "Leave my mommy alone!" He ran very fast at him and jumped, landing a punch on his mask. He fell to the ground as his mask fell, showing a heavily bearded face. He grabbed his leg, swinging him around and let go when he had the speed required to launch him far away from here. After that was done, he ran over to her, worried about her. "Mommy!"

She smiled to calm him down. "I'm gonna be fine Idris." She somehow kept a calm demeanor despite being shot.

"No you're not! You're bleeding!"

"Your mom's a tough woman, this is nothing, now help mommy back into the house and get the med kit." He nodded and helped her into the house.

 _ **?**_

I heard the alarm going off very loudly so I got out of bed, shut it off, and checked what time it was. These have been happening so often that it felt normal now. I yawned and started getting my gear ready. Showering, brushing my teeth, and clothing myself, I got out of the bathroom and stretched. Once my bones popped, I went back to the other side of the bed and moved the lump of blankets that were on there to find Blake under it, still asleep, wearing one of my shirts and shorts.

I picked her dress off the floor and shook her awake as she gave me a smile and a cute yawn. "Morning..."

"Morning. You need to get ready, we have to get to the auditorium in ten minutes or we're gonna be late for our mission assignments."

"Five more minutes..."

"Takes you more than that just to get ready now wake up lazy butt."

"Okay." She dragged herself out of bed and we made it back to her dorm where she started doing her morning routine.

After she got ready, we arrived at the auditorium just in time and went inside, standing next to our friends. 'There you two are, you guys were almost late." said Weiss. "And Blake, where were you last night, you left the party and never came back?"

"I think I know where she was." Yang smiled then put up two fingers and stuck her tongue between them, making Blake and I very red. It only got worse when she make a circle with two fingers of one hand and used her other hand to put a finger through that circle. She then was hit in the back of the head by Weiss who also had a bit of a blush.

"Yang Xiao Long behave yourself!"

We heard the sound of a microphone being tapped on so we all looked to see that Ms. Goodwitch was on the stage. "Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin." She walked off stage and let Ozpin step up.

"Today we stand together united, Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, Vale. The four kingdoms of Remnant. On this day nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in history nearly came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war about much more than were borders fell or who traded with whom, but the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons."

"One being the destruction of all art or self-expression. And as you are all aware, that is something many couldn't stand for. As a result, those who oppose this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself, color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only wouldn't they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither would the generations to come. And it was a trend that has held to this very day."

"We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together united, but this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today while the rest of the world celebrates peace, huntsman and huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you'll be tasked with shadowing a professional huntsman or huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the kingdom for several days, others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter what you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best." He walked off stage, being applauded.

"Nice speech Ozpin." I walked up to him.

"Thank you. Oh and I've taken the liberty to pick your assignment." He said. "One I know you can handle."

"Which one?"

"There were reports of strange activity around the north quadrant in a small town called Lavender. I would like for you to explore that area." He handed me a map. "Return safely."

 _ **Lavender**_

Landing at the outside of the town, I proceeded to ask people who requested the mission. Being directed to the mayor's office, I see that he was a rather short man with gray hair and a big mustache. "You must be the huntsman we requested. My name is Gray Jones."

"Pleasure to meet you sir, what seems to be the problem?"

"My citizens have complained about strange things happening on the outskirts of the town."

"What kind?" I raised an eyebrow.

His fingers twitched timidly or as if he was scared. "They tell me that they've been hearing a spirit constantly yelling and roaring in a nearby cavern. Occasionally the town would start shaking and we all knew that it was the spirit's doing. It seemed to be getting more and more restless as the tremors have worsened. Please get rid of it."

"I will, don't worry. You can count on me." Walking out of his office, I kept hearing whispers from some of the townsfolk.

At the entrance of the cave, I felt an eerie power waiting. Making my way in, I followed that power and stopped at a light shining through a hole in the ceiling which illuminated a massive clearing.

"You abandoned them!" A furious voice called out. "Like common trash, you casted them away for your own selfish needs! Face it, you are just a traitor!" It laughed an insane laugh. "And now that you're finally here, I can have my fun!"

Trying to find the voice, I frantically looked around. "Show yourself!" I snarled.

"Here I am." A figure appeared in front of me and punched me in the gut sending me through some rocks.

Getting up, I was surprised to see who attacked me as the person who attacked me was…..me? I mean he looks like me but he leaked an evil aura. "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter, now fight!" He ordered getting in a stance.

"It's on." We both stood still and upon hearing the sound of a single rock falling onto the floor, we charged at each other. Punch after punch, kick after kick, neither of us had the advantage. We clashed for a few more seconds before separating. "What else you got?" I asked him, standing on a rock column.

"In that case, let's change it up a bit. No restraints, just pure power." Seeing him transform into the Super Saiyan state, he continued growing in strength meanwhile creating even stronger winds which shook the cavern furiously. Seeing the winds calm, I saw that he had grown in muscle mass and his eyes were white. "Your chance of surviving is minimal."

His power level far exceeded mine and I could feel myself shaking but I knew I had to win. "You may be stronger than me but I will not fall by my own hand. Here goes!" I powered up to my max and rushed at him as he charged towards me. I vanished before he could strike and appeared above him then struck him towards the ground.

He stopped himself then shot an energy ball towards me. Dodging it, I was immediately struck in the stomach, causing me to cough up spit. He continued punching me then slammed me into a wall. "And here I thought that you were stronger." He taunted.

I caught his fist then blasted him off of me. Jumping down, I began shooting multiple energy blasts at him. He did the same as the area around us began getting destroyed. We clashed again and caused shockwaves to erupt then punched each other in the face and were stuck in a standstill. "So weak, maybe that's why that sorry excuse of a woman died protecting you." He laughed.

Enraged, I went behind him, grabbed his tail and threw him into a wall where I unleashed a barrage of kick and punches. I backed off and held out my hand producing a giant blue ball. 'Big Bang Attack!' Shooting it directly at him, it consumed him in a blinding explosion. The light died to show him with his arms crossed with only a few scratches.

"I've got some tricks up my own sleeve too." Sending multiple energy balls around me, he crossed his arms, causing them all to hit me. From within the smoke he rocketed towards me and punched me for what felt like an eternity. He held me by my hair and sent his knee into my gut, getting a bit of blood to come out of my mouth. "Ah ha ha ha! All that power and for what, to get destroyed by me. No wonder you can't save anyone." He kneed me again with the same result. "They will all die. Ozpin, Glynda, Port, Oobleck, your friends, and that sister of yours Lyra."

"That's enough!" I blasted him off of me and wiped the blood from my lip. 'I shouldn't be pushing it this far since it is still barely new to me but I have no choice!' I clenched my fists and braced myself for what I was gonna do. "Let's end this thing right here! Right now!" I roared. 'Kaioken times three!' Engulfed in a blazing red aura, I flew to him and knocked him back. I grabbed his leg and arm then sunk my knee into his back with great force. Most of my energy was charged into my left hand, creating a small ball of ki that I jammed into his chest before tossing him towards a boulder and placing my hands by my side. "Ka...Me...Ha...Me...Ha!" Whatever energy I had left was used in that attack that made a large explosion that shook the area.

I powered down and immediately felt the effects of the Kaioken, leaving me unable to move. "This ain't over yet." From the smoke, he emerged with only a couple more scratches on him as predicted. He walked up to me and kicked me through a boulder but I couldn't retaliate since my body was out of energy. "Just because you have a new name, look, and life, you have the gall to forget what happened. You had a life that you abandoned." He stomped on my chest twice then picked me up by my throat. "We had a good life and you ruined it!"

"You're wrong. You had a good life, I didn't. You were the mask I created just so everyone believed that I was ok when in fact I was miserable. Face the facts and accept that what I did was better for me and me alone."

"Lies!"

"No, this is the truth. Yeah I left them behind but this is my life now. I am a saiyan! I am done with being human and I'm done with you!"

That response made him angry. "Once this is over, I'm gonna head over to Vale and destroy everything that you hold dear, starting with that whore of a girlfriend of yours!" He let go of me and flew up with an arm raised over his head.

"Sorry but you won't be getting anywhere near them." I picked up my left arm and pointed it towards him. Closing it into a fist, he suddenly stopped. His power level started decreasing rapidly and he dropped to the ground.

"What...what did you do to me?!" He yelled then coughed out blood.

"Something that I've only ever practiced and done with grimm...As we speak, your body is being destroyed from the inside. If you were really me, you'd remember our fights with Goodwitch and what she said about strength not being everything." I smiled. "I hope you can find peace in the decisions I've made. But for now, this fight is over, and so are you." His body started evaporating and soon vanished all together. I took some moments to gather my bearings then slowly got back onto my feet. Three faint energy signals were sensed and I followed where it originated from meanwhile feeling pain in each footstep. There I found three people, dragged them out of the cave, and flew the rest of the way..

I arrived back at the town when night fell and landed in the middle of the town. "Everyone come quick, he brought them back and he needs help!" Someone said as I placed the people on the ground. I put my hand on the first person's chest and pumped a bit of energy into them, jolting him awake then did the same for the other two.

Breathing heavily, I felt a hand on my shoulder and gritted my teeth, feeling a surge of pain. I looked to see whose hand it was and it belonged to the mayor who took his hand off of me. "Please be careful, my body is suffering from being pushed beyond its limits." I told him.

"Imoni come quick!" He yelled out. Out of the crowd came a blue haired woman with red eyes. "Heal this boy for me."

She nodded. "Ok." Her sight turned to my body, "Must've been quite a fight. Now you may feel a bit of pain."

I winced when she put her hand on me but the pain faded away and I sighed. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet." She took her hand away and grabbed some bandages from the pouch she had with her. "The pain is gone but I will still need to take care of your wounds. That's the extent of my semblance." Couple moments later and my arms along with my chest were taken care of and bandaged up. "That should be all, just don't move too much."

"Thank you." I smiled then got up off the ground with some help. "My job is done here, guess I should be heading back."

"Why not stay for the night?" asked the mayor. "The people here are wanting to celebrate this occasion and we would be delighted to have you."

My stomach growled. "Guess I can stay for a while."

"Splendid!"

The night was spent with the people of Lavender being cheerful and partying to their heart's content. I didn't celebrate for long since I needed to rest so I was escorted to a room and slept. The next morning I was woken by my scroll going off. The caller was Ozpin and I answered. "Morning Oz-"

"Get to Vale now, grimm are flooding the area!" He ordered.

"What?! I'm on my way!" I abruptly got out of bed, shot into the sky and headed towards Vale.

 _ **Downtown Vale**_

Landing on a rooftop, I saw grimm surrounding Team RWBY, JNPR, and CFVY. I was prepared to fight but heard the roar of airship engines. Looking up, I see Ironwood's army fly over and deploy taking care of the grimm problem. Sensing the energy I felt on the day of the dance I turned to see three people talking on another rooftop. One was Mercury, the other was a girl with green hair and red eyes, I think her name was Emerald. The third one however looked very similar and even had the same energy signal as the intruder from the dance. Jumping down onto the street, I met up with everyone. "Guess there was no need to worry." I sighed.

"Woah, you look terrible." Yang said, getting everyone to see that my shirt and pants were torn badly with a couple cuts and dry blood all over my bandages.

"What happened to you?" asked Weiss.

"Something that I'm lucky to have lived through." Looking back at the rooftop, they were approached by a man with red hair and wearing a White Fang mask. 'He's here already?'


	14. 14

Roaming the halls in deep thought, I bumped into someone. I regained my usual composure when noticing that it was Blake who I bumped into. "Hey Blake, sorry for bumping into you. Are you looking for something?"

"Actually I've been looking for you. I've noticed that you haven't been yourself lately. The others have said the same. Can you tell me what's wrong?" She asked with a look of concern.

Well she wasn't wrong. I have been feeling a little off lately. Ever since that mission where I basically fought and killed myself, I had taken some time alone to think things through and truly come to terms with my decisions. Once I did, it felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. "Nothing's wrong, in fact, I feel better than ever."

"You sure?"

I smiled to calm her down. "A little trust would be nice." My scroll was going off and I saw that Ozpin was calling me. "What's up?" I answered the call.

"Report to my office immediately, you seem to have a visitor." He hung up afterwards.

"What'd he say?" Blake asked.

"He asked me to come to his office. Want to accompany me?" I asked her. She nodded and we were both on our way.

 _ **Ozpin's office**_

As soon as we got there, a person possibly Yang's height with slightly darker skin than mine and short brown hair dressed in a black martial arts uniform with gold lining facing Ozpin. His tail which looked reminiscent to a tiger was wrapped around his waist. "Who's this Ozpin?"

He turned around revealing a face from my past but with golden eyes. "Brandon?" I stood shocked.

"I told you that we'd meet again, and I guess this is permanent." He smiled and walked towards me.

"Who is he?" Blake asked.

"An old friend of mine, and a good one at that. Should've known by first glance due to that uniform. He was a martial artist back home." I walked towards him. We hugged a bit and started talking. "Judging by the tail and eyes, you're a tiger faunus huh?" I pointed out his features.

"I guess so and this must be Blake." He looked at her.

"Yeah and I know this might come as a shock, but she's also my girlfriend." I held her hand.

His mouth dropped a bit. "No way, are you serious?" He smiled.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, I asked her to the dance and things happened which led to this."

"Finally!" He cheered. "I swear, this is really relieving knowing that you finally did it."

I punched his arm. "Don't rub in the fact I couldn't do it back home jerk." Looking back at Blake and Ozpin, they both smiled at our antics. "Obvious question, but how did you get here?"

"I don't know, I was doing some work when I felt dizzy. Passing out, I then found myself in front of this school, dressed in my uniform. I met Ozpin here and explained my situation. He told me there was some with a similar deal and I knew it had to be you. So your name's Idris now?"

"Yep and I haven't thought about it until now, but if you are here then where are Nick and Adonis?"

"I have no clue. That aside, check this out!" He held out his hand as an axe appeared in his grasp and he got bulkier.

"Woah!" I awed.

"Turns out that any weapon I summon at my hand, my body changes slightly to fulfill the weapon requirements. So if I get a big weapon, I get stronger and if I get a smaller weapon, I become faster. At first I didn't know I could do this until I read a note that was apparently attached to my uniform. Cooler than being a saiyan in my opinion." He bragged.

Ozpin coughed before speaking. "Since you two know each other well, would you both be interested in becoming a team? The Vytal Festival tournament starts in a few weeks and you both can enter together." He said, shocking the three of us.

"Wouldn't hurt to do it, what name should we do?" Brandon looked at me.

"Hmm how about Borderlands?" I suggested. "After all, you did enjoy the game series back home."

Brandon placed a hand on his hip to think then made up his mind. "Yeah that'll work."

"Then it's settled, you both will be known as Team Borderlands. I will register you both in the tournament, so in the meantime, go have fun and tomorrow, you can start your training." Ozpin sat down.

"Awesome! Come on Blake, let's go introduce Brandon here to the rest of the gang. This is going to be fun!" I cheered.

 _ **Practice Arena**_

Blake told me that everyone went to go practice for the tournament so we headed to the arenas. There we saw everyone except Sun and his team there watching the current spar between Yang and Nora from the railing. It was a power struggle as those two are the strongest of their teams. The timer ran out calling the end of the match as Nora had slightly more aura in her meter than Yang. Looking at Brandon, I saw that he was staring at Yang the whole time. 'New teasing material.' I smiled to myself.

"Congrats Nora!" I yelled to her. Everyone turned to me as I noticed them all staring at Brandon. They all walked up to us no doubt with questions.

"Who's the dude?" Yang asked.

"Ooh I have an idea." Nora raised her hand. "This guy is the brother that you never told us about. You jerk!" She pouted at me.

"Close but no. His name is Brandon and he's one of my best friends from my world. We are both joining the tournament as a team."

"What!" They simultaneously yelled.

"So much for winning the whole thing." Jaune moped. Everyone else except Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha had the same expression.

"Aww come on guys, it's not going to be that bad." I tried making them feel better.

"Try as you must, but the possibility of facing two people who have power much greater than anyone in the world even if we have the numbers advantage is pretty saddening." Weiss stated.

"The chance of that happening is low, besides, I'm the only saiyan here. Although he has a better fighting style than I do since I am more of a brawler like Yang." Before I could go even further, I was interrupted by a call. Looking at who it was, it was Lyra. "If you would excuse me for a moment." I left the room. "Hey Lyra, what's up?" I greeted her.

"Hi, I've got some good news. The school is giving us some time off to go to the Vytal Festival!" She sounded really excited.

"That's really great. Hopefully you'll cheer me on during the tournament."

"Wait, you're entering? I thought you had to be in a team to enter." She wondered.

"Well I'm teaming up with an old friend, I'll explain when you're here. So who's going with you?"

"Just Ellie and a few others. Oh I can't wait to tell her that we'll finally see you in action! I'll talk to you later bye!" She hung up. I walked back into the room to see Brandon sparring with Ruby.

She's actually holding her own pretty well against him. "Ruby's gotten quite strong hasn't she?" I leaned against the railing.

"Well you have been training her in your free time." Yang said.

"Yeah, but it's her determination that's been pushing her this far."

An hour of sparring passed and I could see that everyone is serious about winning. We all huddled in a circle as I started to speak. "This is what you've all been training for. Remember to do your best, especially if you have to fight Brandon and I." I placed my hand in the middle with everyone joining me. "I'll be rooting for you all." We cheered and lifted our hands in the air. Shortly after Brandon and I left to my dorm which now had an extra bed for him.

I laid down in bed with my hands behind my head. "Noticed that you were staring at Yang. Do my eyes deceive me or are you already crushing on her?" I teased him.

"You know nothing!" He quickly responded then laid down on his bed.

I laughed a bit before yawning. "I hope it's her personality you like and not just her body you perv."

"I am not a pervert!"

"Alright if you say so. Goodnight."

 _ **Days later**_

The stadium was full with ear bursting cheer that you could hear from backstage. Today is the beginning of the Vytal festival tournament. I was told that we'd be the first match, and not much can express how pumped up I am to begin although the first match was supposed to go to Ruby and her team. To our surprise, the tournament was held inside a floating stadium while the festival was taking place down below in the fairgrounds. After coming back from my mission a while back, I was in dire need of replacing my destroyed gear and I did by rocking a blue long sleeve, orange pants with blue boots, and black bandages wrapped around my hands. What better way to fight than by pulling off the classic orange and blue along with some minor changes of course.

"Welcome everyone to the Vytal festival tournament!" I heard Peter announce.

"No doubt that this shall be a great show this year." Oobleck commented.

"Indee-"

"Idris." I heard Blake's voice.

I turned around and smiled. "Come to wish me luck?"

"I did, not that you'd really need it and to give you this. Think of it as a very early birthday gift. Turn around and close your eyes." She instructed and after doing what she said, I began feeling something light around my neck. "Ok, now open your eyes." Opening my eyes, I looked down seeing that she placed a necklace on me with her symbol hanging from it. I turned around to thank her, but was interrupted with a kiss on the lips. "Good luck out there. Lyra is watching with us too." All I could manage right now was a goofy smile as I saw her leave.

"-Team Borderlands!" I heard Port call.

"Showtime!" Brandon said, snapping me out of my trance. I hid the necklace under my shirt as we entered the arena and saw some skeptical faces. I mean if you think about it, teams are mostly made up of four people, so their reaction is understandable.

"Now we know what you may be thinking, but these two have proven themselves as a powerful duo who can no doubt handle what is thrown at them. You just have to see it to believe it." Oobleck explained.

"And from Atlas, please welcome Team Spark!" Port introduced.

We all stood on the center platform as screens appeared around the arena. Half of the screens revealed a different image as the flat arena was replaced by two different biomes. One side was a forest, and the other half turned to a desert. Around the stadium, four screens lit up showing the aura gauge with of all of us. I looked at the names on the screen next to their photo and then back our opponents.

First was Slater, a tall red haired male with blue eyes in a grey suit, with claws for weapons. Second was Patrick, a dark blue haired guy around my height with daggers wearing a white jacket, blue shorts, and red shoes. The other two were slightly shorter than me. Third was Alicia, a dark pink haired girl with green eyes wearing a dark brown vest over a blue dress. Her weapons seemed to be a bow and arrow. And lastly, fourth was Kelly, a blonde with purple eyes dressed in a simple blue top, gray jeans, and sandals. She seemed to be carrying a rifle on her back.

"With introductions out of the way, let the match begin!" As Port finished, more cheers erupted.

"So we each take two?" I asked Brandon.

"Yeah but for now, I'll handle the girl with the bow and arrow. I'll be back." He said, equipping a katana then began chasing the pink haired one into the forest.

"Brandon has begun by chasing after Alicia leaving his partner to battle the remaining members. Will Idris be prepared for a three on one fight?" Oobleck spoke.

I looked at my three opponents. "You ready?"

"Yeah, can't wait to destroy you." Patrick boasted.

"In that case, you're up first." I raised my fists. He charged at me as fast as he could, swinging one dagger at me so I swayed to the left then pushed him back. Sensing someone behind me, I rolled to the side, seeing Slater miss a downward slash.

"Patrick, remember that we fight as a team. Solo isn't an option here." He advised.

"Got it." Patrick responded, standing alongside Slater who then nodded towards Kelly. She responded to his gesture, grabbed her rifle and started shooting at me. Catching each bullet and letting them drop to the ground in pieces, the crowd cheered loudly.

"My word, he caught all of her ammunition! The strength, speed, and reflexes needed to do something like that is something most huntsmen and huntresses need decades of experience to master and he did it effortlessly!" shouted Oobleck.

'Alright, I guess I have to take out Kelly first.' Seeing that the guys were running towards to punch me again, I grabbed their fists and threw them aside which gave me the chance to attack Kelly. Hearing a buzzer, I looked up at the screen to see that Alicia was eliminated and Brandon had a little less in his aura gauge now.I vanished momentarily then reappeared behind Kelly as I sweeped her legs from under her and sank my fist into her abdomen with enough force to lower her aura to half before throwing her out of bounds, eliminating her.

Brandon caught up to me with some scratches. "I take Red and you take Blue?" He asked.

"That'll work." We split up once more and I kicked Patrick to the desert area. "Now's your chance to destroy me." I raised my fists once more.

"I'll end this in one shot." He boasted. Breathing in a lot of air, he placed his hands in front of his mouth like a tube before blowing, causing a giant amount of fire to shoot out.

Reeling my fist back, I punched the wave of fire into nonexistence and saw that he seemed out of breath after the attack. 'Must be a side effect.' Taking the opportunity, I ran up to him and gave him a punch in the stomach and lastly an uppercut to his face that took any aura he had left. He stumbled for a few seconds before falling onto his back, getting the buzzer to go off again.

"And that's three of Team Spark down leaving Slater the last man standing!" Oobleck announced. I turned to where Brandon was fighting to see that they were coming to a close. As things were getting serious, Brandon separated himself from his opponent then took off his wristbands as the crowd became silent. He dropped them on the floor with a hard thud and shocked some of the audience.

"So no more restrictions for you right?" I called out to him.

"Got that right!" He rushed with a burst of speed. He grabbed his axe then slammed down on his opponent who barely blocked it. Using the momentum to swing himself behind Slater, he summoned a rapier and rapidly struck him in multiple areas. As a finishing move, he kicked Slater's legs from behind then punched the side of his face with an extreme amount of force, sending him sliding back a few feet.

"Slater is now eliminated signifying that the victors of the first match is Team Borderlands!" Port bellowed as the cheers from the audience drowned the stadium.

"Awesome." I smiled.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Brandon tried catching his breath.

"How're you out of breath?"

He smiled. "Shut up."

Walking out of the arena, we were congratulated by our friends then sat down watching the next few matches. After Team RWBY's match, they decided to go eat. Brandon went with them, but I had to go meet up with Lyra because she wanted to introduce me to some of her friends. I spotted her admiring something on the shelf of a little souvenir shop. "There you are."

She turned around then hugged me. "Your match was so awesome!" She jumped in excitement. "So how are things with you and Blake?"

"We're dating now and she gave me this before my match." I showed her the necklace. "Where are those friends of yours that you wanted me to meet?"

"Aww that's so adorable also they should be around here somewhere." She started looking around. Upon spotting them, she grabbed my arm, leading me to them. I saw Ellie talking to a redheaded girl with orange eyes and a brown haired boy with blue eyes. "Here he is." She told them referring to me.

"Hey Idris, it was amazing seeing you in action!" Ellie greeted.

"Are you sure this is your brother?" The redhead asked.

"Yeah, I mean he's a monkey and you both look nothing alike." The boy agreed.

"And you two are?" I pointed to them.

"I'm Brittany and this is Jake." She introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you both and word of advice, I am her brother and those who say I'm not are gonna have to deal with me." I warned them.

"So how much weight are you training with now?" Lyra asked.

"Weight?" Brittany asked.

"Yeah, his gear is weighted to be a certain amount. Last time I asked, he told me he had a total of three hundred." Lyra explained, surprising her friends.

"That was after my first semester. Honestly throughout this past month, I've been doing so much training that I've upgraded to at least five hundred."

"That's crazy!" She cried out.

"I'll agree, how can a person withstand that much weight?" asked Brittany.

"Well when you train as much as I do, most things can become possible. Who knows, in a few weeks I'll be able to do a full ton." I crossed my arms and put my hand on my chin. "Maybe even more if I push it."

"So how's your second match gonna go?" Ellie asked me.

"I haven't really thought about it." Hearing the announcement that the matches will be continuing, We left to the stadium via airship and I met up with everyone else as we all took our seats.


	15. 15

The last fight of the first round ended up being Ruby and her team. I guess they were saving the best for last. Not gonna lie, the match was spectacular and I noticed Ruby using some new techniques throughout the match. I might even say that their match was better than mine.

I went backstage and found the girls. "That was definitely the top match of the first round." I gave them a thumbs up.

"It was all thanks to these guns." Ruby held her breath and flexed her arm with all her might.

I had a little laugh and squeezed her arm lightly, causing her to exhale. "Wow." I turned to Blake. "I didn't get to say thanks for the gift, so thank you."

"Wanna join us for some food?" Yang asked me.

"Hmm maybe later, right now I have to go do something."

I went to Ozpin's office to talk to him about what I saw on the day of the grimm invasion. "So from what you are saying, these three people who are competing in the tournament may be the cause behind that panic?" Ms. Goodwitch asked and I nodded. "In that case, we must arrest them now before things get out of hand."

"Hold on Glynda." Ozpin raised his hand. "If we were to act right now in such a manner, then our actions would bring consequences to not only the school, but the students as well. Besides, we need to wait for the right moment so we can do something without a negative impact."

"I'll be sure to continue watching over them. Oh and what's been troubling me is the fact that their fourth team member has a similar energy reading to someone who works for Roman. Her name is Neo but she doesn't speak, at least from what I know when I first saw her. We can't tell Ironwood because he actually might try to arrest them."

"We can both certainly agree on that." She spoke. Rumbling noises were heard from outside as Ozpin stood up from his chair. He received a call then asked Ms. Goodwitch to go with him which left me in his office alone.

'Must have been important. Might as well wait for them here. Question is, what do I do in the meantime?' I was thinking for a few seconds before having an idea. Sitting in Ozpin's chair, I began spinning for a while. Hey, it may not be the best idea, but it's all I got. Getting off the chair, I felt dizzy so I shook my head and regained my senses. Hearing the elevator open, I turned to see Ironwood walk in with a woman. She had pale skin, white hair and medium-light blue eyes. Her hair was tied up in a bun at the back of her head, with the exception of her bangs, which are brushed off to the right side of her face, and a small lock of hair that reaches below her left ear. She also seemed to be dressed in a military uniform but with cut open sleeves.

"Hey General." I greeted.

"What are you doing here?" He asked me.

"Discussing some stuff with Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch. Judging by the hair and the eyes, I'm guessing that she's related to Weiss." I looked at the woman he had with him.

"You know my sister?" She asked me.

"I do. My name is-"

"Idris, yes I know. My name is Winter. I've watched your match in the tournament." She explained. "I didn't expect her to become friends with a faunus." She glared at my tail.

"It was challenging at first, but she warmed up to me after a while." Moments passed and the elevator opened letting Ozpin, Ms. Goodwitch, and a man walk in. He had graying black, spiky hair, with a red, tattered cloak, wears a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. He also wore a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his fourth finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant.

'This must be Qrow. I remember asking Ruby who trained her during one of our sessions and she described him to me.'

"What were you thinking?!" Winter started.

"If you were one of my men, I'd have you shot." Ironwood added.

"If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself." Qrow said with a flask in his hand meanwhile Ozpin went to sit back down on his desk.

"Well I wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation." Ms. Goodwitch referred to Winter.

"He was drunk." Winter stated.

"He's always drunk." Ms. Goodwitch clarified. At the sound of gulping, everyone turned to see Qrow drinking from his flask. He noticed the stares after a while, stopped, then shrugged his shoulders.

Ozpin sighed then sat on his chair, eyes closed with his hand on his head. "Qrow." He opened his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"You've been out of contact for weeks, you can't just go dark like that in the field." Ironwood spoke with a tad bit of anger.

"I'm not one of your special operatives Jimmy." Qrow said.

"General." Winter corrected angrily.

"Whatever." He remarked. "You sent me to get intel on our enemies and I'm telling you, our enemy is here."

"We know." Ironwood crossed his arms and leaned against Ozpin's desk.

"Oh you know! Well thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed."

Ironwood sighed. "Qrow-"

"Communication's a two way street pal. You see this?" He interrupted and took out his scroll, pointing at a certain area.

"That's the send button."

"They had reason to assume you were compromised." Winter had her arms behind her back.

"And I have reason to assume that you don't need to be here. Seriously, who invited her?" He pointed to her.

"Schnee, we'll discuss this incident back on my ship." Ironwood lowered his head.

"But sir-"

"Winter, leave." He ordered.

"Yes sir." She saluted him then left towards the elevator. Qrow gave her a little wink.

"Go on." Ironwood waved.

"Your little infiltrator isn't just a pawn, they're the one responsible for Autumn's condition." He took another gulp from his flask.

"Excuse me for interrupting but who is Autumn?" I asked.

"You'll learn soon enough kid. Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers or generals or headmasters." He looked at everyone else. "The people in this room, the leaders of the two academies, we're the ones who keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows." He walked up to Ironwood. "It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So you tell me James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet or did you just not give a damn?"

"Discreet wasn't working." Ironwood placed his device on the desk and stood. A hologram of the stadium, Beacon, and Vale was then displayed. "I'm here because this was necessary." He pointed to the ships floating around the stadium.

"You're here because Ozpin wanted you here. He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us." Qrow pointed at Ozpin.

"And I am grateful." Ironwood spoke with sincerity.

"Oh well you've got a real funny way of showing it."

Ironwood placed his hands behind his back. "The people of Vale needed someone to protect them. Someone who would act. When they look into the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe and our enemies will fear our strength."

Qrow laughed a bit. "You think they're scared of your little ships? I've been out there and seen the things she's made and let me tell you, they are fear."

"And fear will bring the grimm." Ozpin rose. "A guardian is a symbol of comfort, but an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now. A question behind everyone's minds. If this is the size of our defenses," He examined the hologram. "what is it we're expecting to fight?"

A moment of silence was shared as Ironwood sighed once more and walked towards the desk. Right before he retrieved his device, I noticed the image of a chess piece flashing. "So then, what would you suggest we do?" He asked everyone.

"I would suggest we find our guardian, but it seems we already have one candidate here with us." Ozpin looked at me along with everyone else following his gaze.

"You can't be serious, he's just a boy." Ironwood said with doubt in his mind.

"A boy with enough power to level a mountain on his best day. On the night he lost his mother, he killed two high priority men from the White Fang with ease. The amount of power he radiated was at the level of a seasoned huntsman and that was before he got here. Since then his training has been under Glynda's care and she can tell you from experience that he is still growing much stronger each day. Soon enough his strength will surpass the amount of power the four of us have combined. Although knowing him, I'm sure he's done it already."

"And why wasn't I told of this?" Ironwood asked. "If I had known about him then we wouldn't be having this problem in the first place."

"Because he doesn't need to be seen as a weapon to the whole world. He wanted to be kept secret so he can live a normal life and do what he can to fulfill a promise he made" Ms. Goodwitch told him then looked at me. "Go get some rest, you'll need it for your match tomorrow."

"Before I go, I've heard on the news that there seems to be a grimm problem outside of Vale. Can Brandon and I go kill off a few of them? He said he needed to get used to his increased strength now that he won't be training with weights anymore and this provides the perfect chance." She nodded at my suggestion. I left the room now wondering who was meant to be the second choice for guardian.


	16. 16

Hearing the ringing of my phone, I saw that it was a message from Ms. Goodwitch telling us to get ready. "Wake up Brandon." I told him.

"Do we have to?" He mumbled.

"Yeah you do." I threw my pillow at him then got up. After a quick shower, I got my gear ready and waited for Brandon to finish doing his thing. Few minutes passed and we walked out of our room and went to get some breakfast. Few more minutes passed and we went to the landing area seeing an airship waiting for us.

"You know you could've just flown us there." Brandon yawned.

"Do you really want me to carry you on my back?" I looked at him already knowing the answer. "I mean I would do it but would you let me?"

"Yeah good point." He slouched a bit. "Although I would get some extra sleep." We continued walking and were greeted by the pilot.

"Hey. So you two are the ones I'm dropping off?" She asked.

"Yep where are we going?"

"I'll be dropping you boys off at Mountain Glenn. Hopefully, we can get this over with quickly and get you guys back here before your match." We boarded the ship and took off.

On the way we got to know the pilot. She told us her name was Beth and that she had a knack for flying since she was a teen.

 ** _Mountain Glenn_**

We arrived and I remembered that Oobleck taught us about this place being abandoned due to Grimm attacks. Beth landed in the middle of a street. "Here we are boys. Be sure to call me once you're done so I can come back."

"Got it." I waved, seeing her fly away.

"So this is Mountain Glenn, just an abandoned city?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah, it was an attempt of expansion but got overrun with grimm. From what I heard from Oobleck, there was a city beneath this one but that one got overrun too making it the largest tomb." I explained.

"So glad that we just need to stay up here then." He stated.

"Yeah, the girls told me that when they went here with him, the underground city soon became a cesspool of grimm again after they got involved with the White Fang again." We scaled to the top of one of the buildings and began looking for signs of any grimm.

 _ **Ten minutes later**_

"Anything yet?"

"Nah unless you wanted to find rocks?" He asked.

Sure enough, the waiting paid off as we heard a ton of screeching. Turning to the sound, we see a couple of nevermore flying. I pointed my hand as if it were a gun and shot three times as three different explosions engulfed the nevermores.

"Nice." Brandon said, nodding then giving me a thumbs up. Now we heard a couple roars and saw a bunch of beowolves and a few deathstalkers now coming towards us. "Time to test my strength." He summoned a claymore and jumped off the building. Slamming the ground with his claymore, a strong force was exerted which crushed the ones closest to him and pushed back the others.

He ran ahead slicing through the beowolves then switched to a hammer much like Nora's and bashed in the skull of a deathstalker, same with the other remaining few. "Well, that was a rush." He exhaled.

"I'd give that performance a nine point five" I clapped.

"It was perfect and you know it." He pointed.

"Alright, I'll give you the ten." I raised my hands.

"Good. During the time we were up that building, I asked you a question to pass the time, yet you never answered it. Answer it."

"I will not." I immediately responded.

"Come on, admit it, Beth was hot." He told me.

"Not saying anything."

"I didn't hear a no." He leaned in.

"Ok, she's hot, so are many other women but you don't see me following them like a hormonal beast besides, I'm happy being with Blake. There happy? When are you gonna ask out Yang?"

He nodded. "Satisfied and maybe after the tournament."

Sighing, I decided to ask my next question. "How's life at home been after I was gone?"

A small moment of silence was created. "Well I don't know how to exactly put it into words. I mean some things did change but the majority of it was the same." He answered sincerely.

"Oh ok. Guess my existence wasn't really needed." I sighed and mumbled quietly before sitting against a wall.

"Don't bring yourself down over that. You do matter. If you didn't, would everyone you know in Remnant not care about you? How about Nick, Adonis, or me for that matter? We've known each other since junior high and supported one another. Never say your life doesn't matter. Only I can say that." He said, ruining the sentimental moment.

I smiled, got up, and punched his arm. "Yeah...yeah. We should separate and scout out for more grimm cause I know that can't be it."

"Alright, I'll search low, and you search high. I'll message you if I see anything." He said before running off on his own. I flew into the air and went north, putting on my earbuds to clear my head and just take in the view.

Just ruins as far as the eye can see...nothing new. My scroll beeped and I answered. "You found something?"

"Oh I found something alright! Get over here now, there's a bunch of goliaths here!"

"On my way." Putting away my earbuds, I sped over to his location to see that he was right. At least five goliaths surrounded him. I shot a barrage of ki blasts which killed all of them. I landed next to Brandon and smiled. "You good?"

"Yeah, I'm good. So that's what it'd be like if we fought an elephant back on Earth, let alone five of them. Man, what I wouldn't give to just go back and rest. Call Beth to take us back, I'm sure we're done here."

"Alright." I called Beth and five minutes later she arrived at our location.

We boarded her ship then took off. "How'd it go?" She asked us.

"Other than the occasional grimm sightings, nothing too bad." Brandon sighed in relief.

"You still up for fighting in the second round?"

"Nah." He smiled. "You go ahead, I said I was gonna rest and I'm gonna do just that."

 _ **Stadium**_

From what I've been told, Yang and Weiss won their match and it was time for my match. I am currently standing in front of my two opponents, Gracie Valentino and Lloyd Wright.

Gracie's appearance consists of brown hair, yellow eyes, and is dressed in a suit of armor much like a knight but without a helmet. The other, Lloyd, has black hair and blue eyes and is wearing a long dark coat over a red shirt and gray jeans along with purple shoes.

"Time for the last match of the second round." Port spoke. "Although it seems that Idris will be fighting on his own this time but I have no doubt that he will prevail despite the odds."

"I agree with you there, and now let the match...begin!" Oobleck announced.

"Don't hold back on me ok?" I asked smiling.

"As long as you give us all you got, then we'll do the same." Gracie smiled back.

"You sure?" I asked and they responded with a nod. "Alright, but give me a moment." Off came the long sleeve, revealing the necklace that Blake gave me and my blue tank top underneath as I heard a couple of the female audience whistling or cheering at me. Looking over to Blake, she seemed kinda annoyed by those girls while I struggled not to blush from all the praise. Then I pulled up the legs of my pants and took off the ankle weights I had on. "If you thought my partner's gear was heavy in our last round, then listen closely!" I yelled to the crowd. Raising my shirt and ankle weights in the air, I simply let go. Not only did it crack the floor but it also created a small crater that made everyone in the arena speechless.

"Incredible!" I heard Oobleck say. "It appears that Idris has been fighting with weighted clothing since the first round. Hold on...I've just been told that with the shirt and ankle weights combined, the total amount of weight leads to...six hundred pounds!"

"Six hundred pounds! Now that is one of the many reasons as to why he is referred to as one of Beacon's strongest by every student and professor even though he is only a first year!" Port added.

"And to think that he was so far behind everyone at the start of the school year in both academics and fighting capability."

"Well we can thank our school's own Glynda Goodwitch for that. Under her care, and on his free time, this boy trains day in and day out, to become the best that he can be not only mentally, but physically as well. Not many can deny what he is capable of nor does he let it go to his head. He reminds me a lot of myself in my younger years."

"Yes but you did flaunt a lot back in our day." Oobleck spoke back.

Stretching a bit, I sighed after feeling the satisfying pops of my bones. "Much better. Woo! Alright, let's get this started."

Taking the first shot, I appeared in front of Gracie and kicked her away to a different part of the stage. "And the action has begun with Gracie being sent flying with a single kick!" said Port. I ducked under Lloyd's punch and jumped over his leg, wrapping my tail around it. I swung him around multiple times then let go which sent him towards the area with a couple buildings.

"And just like that, he clears the center stage but wait, here comes Gracie!" spoke Oobleck.

Sidestepping her, I grabbed her punch. She tried again with her other hand and I grabbed that one too. I maintained our power struggle for a little while until I head Lloyd running up to me from behind to which I threw Gracie behind me and into him. They both got up and ran towards me with their swords drawn. I smiled and started dodging each and every attempt of a strike they made as the crowd started cheering. "Seems that the crowd is as impressed as we are Port!"

"Why wouldn't we be? Those two have been known in their school as the fastest sword wielders but as you can see, their opponent seems to be moving faster than their blades. It is as if he knows exactly when and where they are gonna swing."

Bored with dodging, I stopped and used my index finger and pinky to stop their attack entirely. Both of them struggled to overpower my fingers. "How is that even possible?" asked Gracie.

Lloyd grunted then smiled. "I don't know but we gotta go to plan B."

"Got it "

They both stepped back as their power levels raised and their swords lit up, being outlined by a blue energy. "Let's see if he can handle this."

They both ran over to me and as they swung, two arcs of energy were sent my way. Jumping above the arcs, I looked down and saw many more heading towards me. I held my hand out and let out a small grunt, shooting an invisible wave of ki that destroyed the attacks.

Immediately after landing, I saw Lloyd extremely close to me and barely had time to lean back. A small strand of hair was cut off and as Gracie came in to follow up on Lloyd's attack, I shot a ball of ki to the floor to create a smokescreen. It stopped her attack and I floated away from them. From within the smoke, I used my senses to pinpoint their locations. I shot out multiple ki balls to surround them and when the smoke cleared, the crowd was stunned.

I smiled. "You both gave me a good fight, but it is time for me to end this." I crossed my arms and the ki balls came together, going off in a big explosion. After it was all set and done, I looked up to the big screen and saw their empty aura meters.

"And in a spectacular attack, Idris has won the match!" Oobleck spoke as the arena erupted in cheers.

"From the cheers of the crowd, we can definitely see him as the crowd favorite to win." said Port.

I picked up my long sleeve from the ground along with the weights then walked up to both Gracie and Lloyd. I gave them a small portion of my energy before helping them back onto their feet. "I did not expect that to happen. That was pretty awesome." spoke Lloyd.

Gracie smiled. "It's like you have something other than aura powering you."

"Well I wasn't born with an aura. Everything I can do is purely from the work I put in. I haven't even used my full power yet."

"If that's the case, I hope your next opponent just gives up while he or she can still walk."

"Then what would be the point of fighting in this tournament if people just gave up when it seems tough? We train to be the best of the best to help others so we aren't allowed to stop being who we are in the face of difficulty."

"True that." Lloyd extended his hand and I shook it, showing equal respect between us.


	17. 17

The elevator door opened and I walked in seeing Qrow leaned against a column with his arms crossed. Ozpin was at his desk talking to someone. He looked to be talking to…Pyrrha? Rather intent on listening, I sat against the wall.

"It comes as no surprise that they've chosen you to move onto the final round of the tournament." He started. "Your performance has been exemplary."

"Thank you Professor Ozpin, but I would've never made it this far without my teammates." She thanked him.

Qrow picked up his head. "Personally I think it's the other way around."

She turned around slowly and stood from her seat. "I'm sorry but I don't think we've been introduced. And Idris, why are you here?"

"Nevermind him, name's Qrow." He introduced himself.

"Qrow is a trusted colleague of mine." Ozpin explained cooling Pyrrha's nerves.

She turned to back face him. "Professor, if you don't mind me asking, why have you called me here?"

He grinned. "Please, take a seat." He held his hand out. She sat down once more. "What is your favorite fairy tale?" He leaned back on his chair.

"I'm...sorry?" She asked confused.

"Fairy tales, stories from your childhood. Surely you must remember some of them."

She thought for a moment then spoke. "Well there's...the tale of the two brothers, the shallow sea, the girl in the tower-"

"What about the story of the seasons?" He asked leaning forward. I think I remember mom telling me that story when I was a child.

"Oh of course! A callous old man who refuses to leave his home," She began retelling the story. "is visited by four traveling sisters. The first understands his reclusive nature and urges him to use his time in solitude to reflect and meditate. The second brings him fruits and flowers, tending to his crops and revitalizing his garden. The third warms the man's heart, convincing him to step outside and embrace the world around him. And the fourth and final sister, begs him to look at all he that has and be thankful, In return for their kindness, the man grants the maidens incredible powers so that they may continue helping others all over the world. They graciously accept and promise to share their gifts with the people of Remnant until the end of days. Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. The four maidens. My mother loves that story." She said

"Would you believe me if I told you that one's been around since I was a boy?"

Pyrrha laughed lightly. "You're not that old professor."

"Well," His smile faded. "would you believe me if I told you it was true?"

"Heh I beg your pardon?" She asked skeptically, and I kinda wanted to know what he meant.

"What if I were to tell you that there were four maidens existing in this world that could wield such tremendous power without dust?" He asked again.

"Like a semblance of sorts?" I asked getting up off the floor.

"Like magic." He regained his smile.

"Woah."

"Yeah, first time here and it's pretty crazy." Qrow interrupted.

"You're serious?" Pyrrha asked

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Ozpin spoke with a serious tone.

"No." She answered. "Why...why are you telling me this?"

"We are telling you Pyrrha Nikos because we believe that you are next in line to receive the Fall maiden's powers." He said shocking her.

"So she's your second choice?" I asked.

The elevator opened again showing Ms. Goodwitch and Ironwood. They stepped into the room. "Sorry we're late." Ironwood said.

"What is this, who are you?" Pyrrha looked at Ozpin.

"You know who we are. We're still the same teachers and headmasters you met when you arrived at Beacon." Ms. Goodwitch spoke softly.

"Except we've got a little part time job." Qrow added.

"We are the protectors of this world." Ironwood spoke again.

"And we need your help." Ozpin finished.

"Then why not ask Idris to do it." Pyrrha looked concerned. "The things he can do outshine what I can do already."

"We did, now follow us." Everyone got onto the elevator and Ozpin pressed a certain button. A few minutes into the ride, Pyrrha still looked concerned.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"The vault, under the school." Ozpin answered.

A few more moments passed and the door opened revealing a massive dimly lit hallway. Everyone moved ahead meanwhile Pyrrha didn't move. "Come on." I placed a hand on her shoulder. She nodded and we followed.

"I'm sure you must have questions." Ms. Goodwitch looked back at us.

"I know Pyrrha does." I looked around.

She walked up beside Ms. Goodwitch. "I still don't understand. You said I was next in line to receive the maiden's power, what do you mean by that?"

"The maidens have existed for thousands of years, but much like in nature, things change. No two summers are alike. When a maiden dies, her power leaves her body and seeks out a new host. Ensuring that the seasons are never lost and that no individual can hold onto the power forever."

"So how does the power choose?"

Qrow looked at her. "Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules."

"Qrow." Ms. Goodwitch got angry.

"Hey don't get mad cause I'm right."

She got back to Pyrrha's question. "At first the only thing that was certain was that the powers were specifically passed onto young women. But as time went on, it was discovered that the selection process was much more… intimate."

"Intimate?" I asked.

"As we understand it now, when a maiden dies, the one who is in her final thoughts is the first candidate to inherit her power."

"Unless it's a dude or some old hag. Then the power goes to someone random and our job gets a lot harder." Qrow elaborated.

"Why tell me all of this now? Why not wait until I graduated?" Pyrrha asked.

"Because honestly, we've run out of time. I don't know if you've noticed, but things are getting a lot scarier out in the world. Tensions are high, Grimm are growing stronger, more prevalent and it's not gonna be much longer before this peace we've all been enjoying so much goes out the window."

"You're not talking about war?" She asked uncertain of the situation.

"Not a war between nations." Ironwood said.

"We'll fill you in on the details once we know you're with us. For now, all you both need to know is that one of the maidens was attacked. And for the first time in history, her power was stolen."

It seemed that we reached our destination as we stopped in front of a machine where there was a brown haired woman in a container. I walked ahead to get a closer look ignoring everyone. She didn't seem to be moving and her energy felt weak yet familiar. A scar was present on her face. There was a name mentioned by Ozpin moments ago. He said Amber so I'm guessing that's the woman's name. 'Where have I sensed this before?' Hearing the click of heels, I saw Pyrrha standing next to me placing her hand on the glass.

"If all of this is true, why keep it secret? If this girl is so important," She turned around. "if-if we are truly on the brink of war, why not tell anyone?"

"From what we unders-"

I interrupted Ms. Goodwitch. "Think about it Pyrrha. People enjoy having power whether they'd like to admit it or not. And to gain power, people will do whatever it takes to gain it."

Qrow took a sip from his flask. "And as you can imagine, those who succeeded weren't exactly the kind of people you'd want to have unimaginable power."

"And so this brotherhood shows to remove the maidens from the public eye. Allowing their existence to fade into legend." said Ironwood.

"The things we're telling you go against hundreds of years of human history, religion." said Ms. Goodwitch.

"No one would want to believe us. It would cause an uproar."

"It would cause panic." Ozpin looked at Ironwood. "And we all know what that would bring to our kingdom's walls. Which is why we would like to-"

"I'll do it." Pyrrha responded. "If you believe that this'll help humanity, then I'll become your Fall maiden."

"Pyrrha, are you sure?" I asked.

She nodded. "That's what you wanted isn't it?"

"It is, but I'm afraid it's not that simple." Ozpin walked closer. "Given Amber's condition, you won't be able to inherit her power naturally. However, General Ironwood believes he has found a solution." He motioned for him to speak.

"For the past few years, Atlas has been studying aura from a more scientific standpoint. How it works, what it's made of, how it can be used? We've made significant strides, and we believe we've found a way to capture it."

"Capture it and cram it into something else." Qrow summarized. "Or in your case…"

"That's-"

"Classified." Ironwood interrupted.

"wrong." Pyrrha finished.

"The feeling is mutual." Ms. Goodwitch crossed her arms. "But desperate times call for desperate measures."

"And these are indeed desperate times. We can't transfer Amber's power to you but we can transfer what those powers are bound to."

"Her aura." Pyrrha said.

"Her life would become intertwined with yours. The question is-"

"What's that gonna do to you?" Qrow finished Ozpin's question.

"You have an important decision before you Ms. Nikos. There's no guarantee that this transfer will work and there is no telling if you'll be the same person if it does." Ozpin warned. "I'd advise you to take time to think on this matter. But understand, before the Vytal Festival is over, we will need your answer."

"That isn't needed." I spoke up. "We don't even know if this process will work. The ramifications may be worse than intended and I cannot allow that. I'll gladly take the role of guardian when the ti-"

Pyrrha put her hand on my shoulder. "This is my choice to make and if it comes down to it, I'll do it." She smiled.

"Alright if you say so."

"The assailant who attacked the Fall maiden has made their first move and there's no telling when their next move will be." Ozpin warned again.


	18. 18

All of the contestants for the finals including me stood in a row. "Now for what you've all been waiting for, the one on one finals!" Port announced excitedly.

I looked over to Pyrrha and saw that she was kinda nervous. 'Is she still thinking about yesterday?'

"Barty, why don't you explain the rules?" Port asked Oobleck.

"It's quite simple Peter, instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place." He explained.

"Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare." Port referenced.

"Ah yes yes, now let's see who our first match will be." He pointed beginning the randomization process. The randomizer stopped on two people. One was Mercury. The other was Yang. The rest left to go backstage meanwhile I stayed at the entrance. The center stage elevated from the surface giving the audience a better view.

"Three...two...one...Begin!" Port started.

The match began with Yang using a powerful punch which was met with an equally strong spin kick by Mercury. Mercury attempted another kick but Yang jumped over it. In a small clash, they knocked each other back, then Yang started shooting her gauntlets at Mercury who was dodging each shot.

He jumped then slammed down with a kick which Yang used her weapons to block it. Mercury dodged another shot then backflip kicked her. She flipped to her feet and they both began fighting closely. They were quite a match in skill as they dodged one another. Yang got the advantage by uppercutting him then elbowing his gut flooring him.

Shooting her gauntlets again, Mercury was dodging each shot with a backflip but got too far to the edge and slid off. Escaping elimination, he shot himself back into the stage by using his boots. He soon got into another clash with Yang but was mostly using his legs. He was able to kick her back then shot at her. She dodged it and Mercury smirked.

He spun in place, shooting multiple projectiles and creating a tornado of sorts. Yang dodging a few stray shots then went up to him. Dodging her, Mercury kicked her into the air and slammed her down with a kick. Soon after, every projectile he shot, hit her like missiles creating smoke where she laid.

Mercury was dusting himself off as a massive wave of fire exploded in Yang's spot. The flames died revealing Yang. She slammed her fists together igniting her semblance causing her eyes to go red and rocketed towards him. She punched with the force of an inferno. Mercury tried hitting her but was too slow for Yang who dodged then was able to score a couple shots on him. She continued her flurry of hits then with extra force, she punched his gut lifting him off the air causing his aura meter to empty and finished the match with a shot to the jaw, flooring him.

The buzzer rang. "What a way to kick off the finals!" Port complimented. Yang sighed and raised her fist in the air as the stage was lowered.

"Yang Xiao Long wins!" Oobleck reported.

Sensing an energy level rise, I looked around the stadium. My eyes locked onto Emerald. 'What is she doing?' Looking back at the stage, I saw Yang circling Mercury. She reeled back her fist. 'Oh no!' Using my full speed I was able to get in between them and caught her fist before it could go any further. "Yang what are you do-" The feeling of extreme pain hit me as I fell to the ground and the crowd grew silent. Trying my best not to yell, I raised my head from the floor and looked to my right and saw that my tail was blown off. It wiggled around for a moment before stopping completely. I looked back to Yang and noticed she used her other hand.

She shook her head then looked at me. "Wait what? Oh my god, Idris!" Yang yelled.

"Yang Xiao Long stand down!" Two soldiers and a few bots surrounded her.

"Leave her alone!" I got up but my legs were feeling weak to the point I collapsed. Yang looked at the screen and saw the replay of the footage. She looked back at me ready to burst into tears then tried walking closer to me but the security raised their weapons higher. Some medics rushed in and placed me on a stretcher. Before being rushed to the infirmary, I looked over to where Mercury was as Emerald ran to his side. I stuck out my middle finger to both of them before being whisked away.

 _ **Beacon infirmary**_

The doctors left the room meanwhile Ms. Goodwitch stayed with me, worried about my condition. Moments passed and I saw Blake and Lyra barge into the room. The girls ran up to me and hugged me rather tightly. "Idris, are you ok?!" Blake asked. Her and Lyra had the same worried to death expression.

"I'll be fine...but it seems that I will be tailless for a while. Forget about me for the moment, how's Yang holding up?" I looked at Blake.

"I honestly don't know, after what she did to you, I didn't even look at her once. I just ran over here." She answered.

"Alright, help me get up." I tried getting off the bed. I was able to stand and slowly walk for a bit but started wobbling. I was about to fall but Lyra helped me stay balanced. I looked over to Ms. Goodwitch. "So what's gonna happen now?"

"Well the tournament might be delayed till later in the evening or tomorrow after this all gets settled."

"Hmm ok then. Will I still be able to fight in the tournament?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"Of course not! Do you honestly believe that I'll let you do that after what you just experienced?! You may be alright but you can't even walk, let alone be able to fight." She scolded. "Here take these." She handed me a pair of crutches. "And if you try to do something crazy, I will punish you!"

"Yes ma'am. Blake, go talk to Yang and tell her I'll be fine and if you see Brandon, tell him to go with you. Lyra, go with your friends, and tell Ellie that I'll be fine too." I wobbled my way out of the room, trying to get the hang of these. 'So this is what it's like to use crutches...this is gonna suck.'

A couple hours passed since the incident and through constant attempts, I've been getting better. So I returned the crutches to Ms. Goodwitch and promised to her that I wouldn't do anything crazy. I may be a saiyan, but no way I am facing her wrath. I decided to go see Yang. Blake told me that she and Weiss went to get something to drink and Ruby went to do her own thing. I knocked on the door and waited. Yang opened the door, looked at me, and attempted to slam the door shut. I placed my foot in the doorway right before it closed.

She sat down. "How are you holding up?" I asked the question with an obvious answer.

"How do you think?" She looked at me with guilty eyes. "Not only did I get disqualified, but I put you through a lot of pain!" She yelled. "It kills me knowing that I did that to you!" Her voice cracked and she started sobbing.

I grabbed the chair from their desk and sat down in front of her. "No need to be sorry Yang, I forgive you. I know that you wouldn't do that to any of us, especially if it's after a match. This isn't your fault."

She rubbed her eyes and sighed. "The others said the same. Especially Brandon..."

I smiled at her. "For now please relax and be ready for anything because I have a feeling something big might happen." I put the chair back and made my way towards the door. "I'm heading to the fairgrounds, you want anything?"

"No I'm fine, thanks for forgiving me, it really helped."

"If you need anything just ask. Oh and before I go, I only have one question to ask you. Do you like Brandon?"

Her blushing face answered my question. "Uhh I don't know what you mean."

"I've seen the way you look at him every now and then and you're blushing." I pointed out.

She covered her face with a pillow. "I'm not blushing, you're blushing!"

I smiled at her attitude. "Okay then. Oh and I'll be sure to keep your love secret...maybe." Moving to the side, I dodged the pillow she threw at me. "Okay okay I won't tell." I walked out the door. Hearing the chirping of birds on my way to the fairgrounds, I decided to close my eyes and use my senses to guide me. I was passing by the cafeteria building then stopped when I sensed Pyrrha close by and opened my eyes, spotting her sitting against the wall looking lost in thought. "The whole Fall maiden/saving the world thing on your mind?" She didn't respond. "Here's a penny for your thoughts. I already said I wouldn't let you go through with this, but it's not my place to choose for you. Remember that I was also a candidate to become a guardi-"

"But that's the thing!" She yelled abruptly. "I don't know what to do. On one hand, it feels like I was destined for it, but on the other…."

I sat next to her. "But on the other hand you feel like you aren't cut out for that sort of thing and want to be just a regular person."

"Yes…how'd you know?"

"Well how else do you think I'm here on Remnant?"

"Good point."

"I made a choice and I'm not gonna say that I did it solely to help people, I also did it because I wanted something different. Although the point I'm getting to is that you really do have the choice to reject becoming a maiden but you shouldn't be worrying about that now. What you should be worrying about is trying to win the epic fight we're gonna have once we both reach the finals. I haven't exactly been slacking off you know, bet I could beat you effortlessly."

She smiled. "I doubt that but it should be an intense match."

"Now there's that smile that we all know and love. Just remember to keep a cool head if you're fighting tonight and good luck." I got up and left, walking past Nora, Ren, and Jaune. Continuing to my destination, I saw Blake walking around the corner of another building. 'Wasn't she with Weiss today?' Turning the corner myself, I saw her and Sun together. They kissed one another and I just stood there. 'No…' I closed my eyes and shook my head. 'She wouldn't do this...She wouldn't…' Starting to tremble, I wanted to call out to her but I clenched my fists and turned my back to them. With a deep sigh, I continued walking to control my emotions.

 _ **Half an hour later**_

I sat with Ruby waiting for the next match to begin. A few moments passed and Lyra showed up and sat next to me. "Hey Lyra, where's your friends?" I asked her.

"Brittany and Jake went home since they have stuff to do that's important to them and Ellie should get here by now." On cue, Ellie came in carrying some snacks and sat down with us.

"Hey, what'd I miss?" She asked.

"Nothing yet."

Ruby looked like she must have seen something as she just left. "Both of you stay here." Following her, I saw her go to the backstage area.

"Alright, it's now time to begin the randomization process for the next fight." Oobleck spoke.

I was able to catch up to her and saw something that I didn't expect...Mercury showing up out of an exit area. "Mercury?" Ruby asked.

"It looks like our first contender is Penny Polendina from Atlas." Port reported.

"What are you doing?" She asked Mercury.

Port continued. "And her opponent will be...Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon."

"Hey Mercury!" I yelled having both of them turn to me. "Count yourself lucky that Yang didn't break you but I know you must've done something to make her try!" I walked up to Ruby and stood alongside her.

"Well if it isn't lover boy. How's your girl doing, oh wait, she's busy sucking face with that other monkey." He laughed.

"How do you know that?"

"Because it was just an illusion I asked Emerald to make you see. I should've stayed to capture you crying on video too." He added.

No sooner did the sadness I felt turned into something else. "Y-You b-bastard." I trembled in anger and my voice seethed with rage. In a single step, I appeared in front of Mercury and punched him into the wall. "Now you know why I held back when we first sparred. Ruby go ahead, I'll handle him here." A dangerous tone was evident in my voice as Ruby looked kinda scared. She nodded and left.


	19. 19

"I've only got one question for you and you better answer me. Who are you working for?" I asked Mercury.

"And what if I don't tell you huh? You gonna hurt me or something? Or is this just an empty thr-"

I punched his stomach with enough force to deplete his aura completely. "Be careful of what you tell me next. You already pissed me off and I can easily punch a hole in you without batting an eye. What happened all those weeks ago in Vale was not something that just randomly happens. You and Emerald had something to do with it. Now what is the name of that woman you were both with?" I went a little bit more specific.

"C-Cinder. N-Now let me go you freak!"

"There, was all that too hard?" Headbutting him, he fell to the ground unconscious. "Be lucky that I let you live after what you did."

"Idris?" Looking behind me, I saw both Lyra and Ellie with a small amount of fear in their eyes much like with Ruby. I felt Emerald's energy spike again and soon heard the gasps of the crowd, We followed where Ruby went and opened a door, seeing her on the floor sobbing. Looking at the arena, I saw Penny torn in half while Pyrrha stood frozen in fear. A static sound was heard from the speakers as the screens showed the symbol of a pawn.

"This is not a tragedy." A female voice spoke. "This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians."

'That must be her.' Sensing for her energy, I was able to find it. "You girls stay here and find someplace safe." Going to the exit of the stadium, I flew down to Vale and found Cinder.

"-As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you that the situation there is equally undesirable. Our kingdoms are at the brink of war. Yet we the citizens are left in the dark. So I ask you, when the first shots are fired, who do you think you can trust?" She finished her speech.

"Certainly not you." I walked up to her. "So this was your big plan." Sirens blared as a nevermore started attacking the stadium. A couple more appeared, attacking Ironwood's fleet.

"I honestly don't understand why you'd side with them. They are only close to you because they fear your power." She told me.

"And how would you know about me? I never exactly revealed any info of what I can do to you."

"Well," She smiled. "Let's just say that I have my ways of finding information on people who interest me."

"Is that right? How's it like having a portion of the Fall maiden's power?"

"People finally fear me and that's all I ever wanted. What about you?" She circled around me closely. "From what Roman told me, he said that you killed most of his men effortlessly at the docks. What kind of power allows a boy like you to do that?" She placed her hand on my cheek.

I grabbed her hand and moved it away. "One that you will never have."

She narrowed her eyes and stepped back. "Then tell me, how's Eve doing? I assume that she's feeling a bit dead after all this time."

I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. "Was it you?"

"Was it me what?"

"Was it you who ordered those men to come after us?!" Some of my energy leaked itself.

She smiled. "Yes, you see she had some unsavory information that she wasn't supposed to know and we couldn't afford someone like that to be alive. But right now you shouldn't be worried on something as small as this, if anything, you should be worried about that." She had pointed to something.

Looking at where she pointed, I saw a few airships land on the Beacon grounds. Some opened, letting loose a few grimm and the sound of Ironwood's fleet being destroyed was evident.

"Know this, before it's all said and done, I will find you and we will fight." I turned my back to her and flew off to the fairgrounds. By the time I got there, some areas were on fire. Seeing a woman about to be attacked by a beowolf, I ran towards her then punched through the beowolf before blasting a few ursai. Some of Ironwood's robots were shooting the grimm but were failing. Blasting some nevermores out of the skies, more grimm kept appearing. 'Why do more keep coming?' Seeing a massive wave ahead of me, I put my hands together horizontally. 'Final Flash!' Tearing through all the grimm, all that was left was a long path of destruction.

"-We are heading to the docks and doing our job." Hearing Blake's voice, I found her and Weiss grabbing their weapons from their lockers.

"There you two are!" I ran up to them and hugged Blake tightly, remembering what Emerald made me see a while ago before all this.

"Idris, where have you been?!" Weiss asked me.

"Look I'll explain later, but I really have to go. You two better be careful and call me if you need me." Seeing more airships fly towards the stadium, I followed after them and destroyed a couple that belonged to the White Fang. I landed at the entrance of the stadium and saw Ironwood behind two of his robots who were quickly destroyed by an alpha beowolf. Both ran towards one another as Ironwood took out a pistol from his coat and slid under the grimm, shooting its chest three times. He stopped on his tracks and continued shooting. He was hit then blocked another attack from the grimm with his right arm. Shooting its leg, he flipped and slammed it on the floor then picked it up before shooting the back of its head. He walked towards me as I saw Ruby, Brandon, Lyra, Ellie, Jaune's team, Sun's team, Velvet's team, and some of the participants of the tournament.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked.

"Grimm are crawling all over the city, the White Fang have invaded Beacon and to make matters worse, some...vagabond has seized one of my ships. Until we regain command, the skies are out of our control. So I'm-" He raised his pistol and shot a creeper that was behind everyone. "-going to take it back." He walked towards his ship.

"What should we do?" Jaune asked.

Ironwood looked at me and nodded before leaving. I turned to face everyone. "Alright we got two choices, defend our kingdom and our school, or save ourselves." They all looked at one another without a word. "I for one will fight with every ounce of energy I have although it is understandable if you don't want to fight."

"I mean come on." Sun said.

"We can take a ship to Beacon." Jaune suggested and everyone else except Ruby followed him.

"Ruby you ok?" I asked her. "And where are Port and Oobleck, I sensed them with you all earlier."

"Yeah I'm fine, they're in the arena fighting off a few griffons. You be careful out there." She handed me one of Penny's swords.

"You can count on that." I gripped the sword strongly then looked at Lyra and Ellie, giving them a hug. "Stay close to everyone, especially Brandon." Jumping off the edge of the stadium, I noticed an airship ejecting a few robots. I landed with a large thud, seeing Weiss and Blake being shot at by a couple of Ironwood's bots. 'Oh no you don't.' I ran and used Penny's sword to cut through them all. "You two ok?" I asked them. They both responded with a nod. Two armies made up of bots and the White Fang surrounded us. "Alrighty then ladies, let's do this." I stood for a moment then ran with them. 'Let's see if my training with Brandon will come in handy.'

Weiss charged towards the bots meanwhile Blake slashed her way through the White Fang soldiers. I slashed through a couple and blasted any who were too close to Blake or Weiss. Things cleared up as we saw a paladin take out a few of Ironwood's soldiers. "Come on!" Weiss yelled. On the way, we were distracted by something in the sky. It seemed to be a ship that came crashing down. Right before it crashed, an alpha beowolf jumped out. We all looked at one another. "Be safe." Weiss told Blake. I followed after Blake until Weiss stopped me. "Idris, go find Ruby." She instructed.

"But-"

"She'll be fine. Now go find Ruby. Yang is worried about her." Weiss reassured.

"I hope you're right." A loud rumble shook the ground. The ground rumbled once more and shortly after, another happened. Sensing a massive power level, I flew to the top of the building and looked over to where a nearby mountain was. The mountain was slowly cracking and falling apart. All of a sudden, a humongous dragon-like creature bursted from the mountain with a loud screech then began making its way over here. When it reached Beacon, a few drops of goo fell off and hit the ground, spawning more grimm. Hearing my scroll buzz, I saw that it was Ozpin calling me. "Yeah?" I answered.

"It's time. Meet us at the location." He stated.

"Right now isn't a good time."

"It wasn't a request, it was a dem-"

I interrupted. "And I'm saying that I have no time! I have to go find Ruby. Everyone else is here except her and that now has me worried. Don't you have someone with you and Pyrrha?"

"Mr. Arc is with us. I will call you if we need your assistance." He hung up. I sensed Ruby's energy and looked up in the sky spotting a lone ship surrounded by nevermores and griffons. Two other people were with her and I clearly remembered one of them.


	20. 20

I growled in frustration because I kept sensing the fading energies of either soldiers or civilians, even other students. Not to mention that the nevermores and griffons are constantly trying to keep me away from Ruby. Multiple circled around me then lunged at me simultaneously. "Leave me alone!" Spreading my arms outward, an explosive wave was created and killed all the grimm. I was able to make it to her only to see her dangling off the edge holding onto her scythe. Standing over her were Neo and Roman. As soon as I arrived, Ruby reached up to Neo's umbrella and clicked a button causing it to open. Due to the strong wind, it sent the umbrella flying and Neo with it. I kicked Roman back and helped Ruby up. "Just in the nick of time." Seeing her grab her weapon, I turned towards Roman. "Miss me?"

"You again?" He asked angrily.

"This has been a rematch that I've definitely been waiting for."

"You really think you have a shot against me?"

"You're about to find out." I smiled.

He grunted before he aimed his cane at me, shooting all he had towards me, creating a large amount of smoke. He laughed and thought he had me beat but his mood instantly changed when I stepped out of the smoke with only a hole on my shirt where my stomach is. "Oh this is some bull-"

I punched his stomach, causing him to kneel in pain. "Since our first battle I've grown much stronger. Strong enough that it doesn't take much out of me to beat you."

"You don't scare me." He accentuated his point by spitting on my face. "And don't even try to give me that whole 'What if I kill you?' deal. Trust me, I've heard it all." He chuckled. "You hero types don't kill. All you ever care about is forgiveness, kindness, and all that friendship crap."

"Fine then, believe what you will but I am no hero." I held him up by his neck. "I'm just a man protecting what he loves. Descanse en paz." I threw him into the air as a giant griffon flew towards him with the intent of eating him. I held my hand out and grabbed my wrist with my other hand. As soon as the griffon was about to eat him, I let out a destructive amount of energy that consumed both in an explosion. I sighed then held my hand out to Ruby. "Let's get you to the others."

She seemed hesitant of grabbing my hand. "How can you kill someone so easily?" She asked me.

"You all are like family to me. I wouldn't let anything bad happen to any of you. Do you think I'm still a good person from what you've seen me do?" I asked sincerely.

She grabbed my hand and smiled. "You've been a good person since the beginning. I'm not letting this change anything."

"Thanks." I carried her on my back and jumped off the ship. I turned to the ship and blasted it to smithereens. Feeling energies dropped rapidly, another energy faded away and it originated from below the school. It belonged to the Fall maiden. Now an energy level skyrocketed which was Cinder's. I continued flying then found Sun, Nora, Ren, Weiss, Ellie and Brandon all huddled together at the evacuation area. I landed softly and set Ruby down, seeing her ran up ahead meanwhile I walked.

"I'm so sorry..." Hearing Blake's sobs, I picked up the pace and saw her wounded along with Yang whose missing part of her arm.

"Hey...she's gonna be ok, the soldiers have a ship ready to take you guys to Vale." Sun said.

"But Jaune and Pyrrha are still missing." Nora tried to get up but couldn't.

"What?!" Ruby yelled.

"Look guys, that giant grimm keeps circling the school. Even the White Fang are pulling out. We all have to go now!" yelled Sun, trying to reason with everyone.

"We're not leaving!" Ren attempted to stand but failed as well.

I looked around for Lyra but couldn't find her. "Where's Lyra?"

They each looked at each other. "We must've gotten separated somehow."

"Separated how?" I asked, starting to get nervous because she was a little girl, alone, in a tragedy, just like when I found her. I had no time for any of their answers and needed to act fast. "All of you stay here and make sure people are evacuated, I'll find her and finish things." I flew into the sky and sensed for Lyra's energy but it was fading which scared me. 'I'm coming Lyra!' I found myself next to the comms tower and saw her body on the ground. I rushed over to her side to see her bleeding out from a wound in her stomach. There was...a lot of blood.

Kneeling down beside her, she turned her head to see me. "You're here…" She managed to smile with blood dripping from her mouth.

I tried to smile for her, knowing that her energy level was close to gone and she had lost too much blood to save her. "Of course...I'm your big brother after all."

"I'm cold, can you warm me up?" I nodded then placed my hand over her head and started using my energy on her. "Thank you...Do you think my mom and dad are proud of me?"

"You've grown strong since that day we met. Even holding your own in Signal from what your teachers have told me. A quick learner and a heart full of fire. Your parents are proud of you for coming this far."

She smiled. "I'll be sure to tell them about you when I see them. Thank you for everything." She closed her eyes and took her final breath.

I held her close and felt tears escaping from my eyes. "Nobody had to die today...especially not you...I'm sorry…"

"How does it feel, seeing the people you love get hurt or die?" I opened my eyes and saw Blake's old partner Adam standing a couple feet away, cleaning blood off of his sword. "Really breaks you down doesn't it? Don't worry, you'll join her soon then I'll finally see that broken look of Blake's when I show her your head."

"You did this...you...you ruthless...heartless...bastard!" Seething with anger, I began to shake. Storm clouds were forming and lightning struck in front of me with pieces of the ground rising. "I will...make you...suffer!" My power level fluctuated as I felt my hair standing on end before going back to normal.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _"Ow!" Lyra was rubbing her fist after punching my abdomen. "Are you made of steel or what?!"_

 _I laughed. "No, it's just that I train a lot so it's natural for me to be very durable."_

 _"What made you want to be a huntsman?"_

 _"Well I told you what happened to my mom. She's part of the reason I'm doing this. My goal is to become the strongest in the world and protect everyone. That includes you Lyra and I know you plan on doing the same which is why we are training right now. Now come at me again, this isn't over until my scroll rings."_

 _ **Flashback end**_

Overflowed with rage, I clenched my fists to the point my palms started bleeding. More lightning struck the ground around me and once my emotion reached its breaking point, I let it all out with a yell that resonated with the pain of loss. Everything was being blown away from the gusts of wind that were created. A few moments more and I felt a change wash over me and my scream going silent. It was as if all the emotion I had was gone and all that was left was boiling rage. I set Lyra down on the ground and stood, staring straight at Adam.

"A little hair change will do you no good." He said, trembling before steadying himself by drawing his sword out of his sheath. He charged right at me and swung. I grabbed the tip of blade in between my index and middle finger then kicked his stomach, sending him rolling across the ground. With his sword still in the grasp of my fingers, I grabbed the handle with my other hand and walked towards him. He was on his hands and knees, trying to catch his breath then I wrapped my hand around his throat and lifted him up. "For Blake…" I pierced the left side of his abdomen with his own sword, getting a grunt of pain out of him. "For Yang…" I took the sword out of his abdomen then cut off the bottom half of his right arm, this time making him yell loudly. "And lastly...for Lyra..." I slammed him onto the concrete then stomped on his left leg, shattering the bones and getting him to yell even louder before doing the same to the other leg. I broke his sword in half and threw it beside him, turning my back to him and walking back to Lyra.

"What're you waiting for?! Finish me off!"

I picked Lyra up then looked back at him. "Today was meant to be a day of celebration and unification. A day to forget about all the bad things going on in and out of the kingdoms." I flew over to where the airships were and saw that everyone was still there with only one airship left. I landed in front of them and set Lyra's body down. At first their eyes were on me but their attention went to Lyra afterwards.

"Is she…" Blake asked and I nodded as she put her hand on her mouth, tearing up.

"She was just a kid…" said Ren with Nora sobbing into his shoulder meanwhile everyone else stayed silent and bowed their heads.

The power of the fight between Pyrrha and Cinder was sensed and it came from the clocktower. I heard the beating wings of the dragon grimm nearby as it landed in front of the path that led to the auditorium. It roared loud enough to make sound waves. "Take Lyra into the airship and wait, Pyrrha will be here soon. This ends now." I pointed my index finger at the dragon with my thumb extended upward, making the motion of a gun. An energy ball was growing from my finger and once it got big enough, I shot it and blew the dragon's head off instantly.

"Woah…" Ruby trailed off, a tone of amazement in her voice.

With him out of the picture, I flew to the clocktower to go fight Cinder. I forcefully went through the window and landed between them. "Idris, is that you?" Pyrrha asked.

"Everyone's waiting for you on the last airship. I know you think it's your destiny to fight Cinder but it isn't. Get out of here and let me handle this."

"But-"

"Do as I tell you right now before I lose what little sense of reason I have left!" I flared my energy, causing her to flinch before she nodded and jumped down the elevator shaft, figuring a way down safely.

"You aren't an ordinary faunus are you?" Cinder asked. "You must've been the reason behind that beacon of yellow light."

"The dragon is dead, Taurus is out, your forces are gone and that just leaves you. For everyone who needlessly suffered today, let's end this thing right here! Right now!" I ran towards Cinder and swung my fist. As she blocked it, I twisted my body and followed with a kick that sent her through the wall of tower.

I jumped through the window and landed on the ground. She stopped herself in the air then started shooting wave after wave of fire blasts. I moved past each blast with ease. As her anger increased, so did the amount of attacks. I held my hand out and created a barrier to protect myself. She descended and touched the ground before we charged at one another. Just like in the cave a few weeks ago with my counterpart, our attacks matched one another. She swiped her hand up, releasing a wave of flames my way. I moved my body beside it and knocked her back with a good punch. She had regained her senses and held her hands together, shooting out multiple blasts again. Successfully evading, I knocked the last one away, barely noticing her in front of me. She tackled me as we crashed through a few walls of the school. Her assault stopped when we reached the amphitheater where she let go and I crashed into the middle of the stage. I grabbed a piece of rubble beside me then threw it. She took the time to destroy it but during that time, I took the opportunity to blast her towards the stands. I flew through the ceiling and launched a massive ki blast that destroyed the building.

'Sorry , I know this is gonna be a pain to clean up.' I apologized while knowing that it wasn't over yet and floated down to the ground.

Out of the smoke, multiple objects shined and saw that it was glass although it didn't matter much since once the shards were close, they disintegrated. She walked out of the smoke with a slightly torn dress and a twitching eye. "Why don't you just stand still and die?!"

I smiled. "Let me see what you got."

"Why you brat! You dare mock me!" She charged up a massive fireball then threw it at my direction. The fireball consumed me and exploded but the only problem for her was that after the smoke cleared, I was unaffected by it.

"What's wrong Cinder? With the full power of the Fall Maiden I was sure you'd have more power than that."

"W-What are you?!"

"You really want to know? I am a human reborn a saiyan who came here to defeat you. Though my heart is at peace, a fierce rage has awakened the legendary warrior inside of me. My name is Idris and I am…" I let my energy explode outward. "a Super Saiyan!"

She was blown back by my outburst and was able to catch her bearings. "How could a single child ruin months of planning?! I'll make you pay for what you've done!"

"Then give me everything you have! No holding back!"

"Fine!"

We flew towards each other and exchange a punch that each hit their mark. She flew in for a kick but I grabbed her leg and started spinning in a circle. Letting go of her leg, I followed after her and when she stopped herself, I hit her across the face with my elbow. It didn't stop there as I kicked her abdomen a few times before throwing a massive gut punch that got her off her feet for a short moment then fell onto the ground. I jumped high into the sky and held my hands by my side, reminiscent to a classic move that took me a few hours to learn while training with Ms. Goodwitch. "Ka...me…ha...me..." I charged all the energy I needed into this attack. "HA!"

She had gotten back up and shot a massive fireball at me, keeping us both in a power struggle. "I will not lose to you!" I pumped even more energy into the kamehameha which started pushing her attack back. The blast made contact with her body, resulting in the ground shaking violently and a massive smoke cloud. Her power level had decreased dramatically and I still had enough that gave me the advantage. Landing on the ground, the smoke cleared and all that was left was her down in the middle of a small crater. I powered down and turned my back to her. As I was about to leave, I heard her stirring and I jumped down to her to see she was able to get on her hands and knees although her left arm looked like it was beyond repair. I stretched my hand out to her, preparing for the final blow. "Don't do it!" Cinder yelled with a strained voice, looking up to me to show the left side of her face bleeding.

Something was different about her, the look in her eyes had changed. "And why should I not? You seemed perfectly fine with causing all of this."

"Because...your mother...wouldn't want th-"

"It would be wise for you to stop speaking any further lest you want your death to be painful. Go to hell." I got the energy I needed and was ready to end this terrible day.

"Ris I am telling you to stop!"

When she uttered those words, I just froze with my mind taking me way back to all the dreams I've had about my real mother and my younger self. The silhouette that always covered her started to break apart piece by piece and when the pieces were all gone, all that was left was an image of Cinder but with shorter hair. I started shaking and took a few steps back. "No...this can't be true…You can't be her…"

"Idris calm down."

"I wanted to kill you…" I stumbled onto the ground, trying to make sense of it all. "I could've killed you…"

"Idris…Idris listen to me!" I looked up at her when she called my name again. "You did nothing wrong, you did what you had to do, now you have to go and don't even think about staying." She then had a smile on her face. "Your mom's a tough woman." She repeated the same words she told me when she got shot. "Just please get out of here, I'll explain it to you some other time."

I stopped to think and made a decision. I took a deep breath and sighed to calm myself down, nodding at the same time. "Okay…" I held my hand out to her and transferred some of my energy to her. "This should help you."

"Thank you." Those were her last words to me before I powered up and flew off, leaving her and Beacon behind.

 _ **Timeskip**_

After everything that happened, everyone was being treated and once they were cleared, all came over to Ruby's home in Patch only with the exception of Sun, Ellie, and Weiss since she had to return to Atlas with her father who came for her. While they all spent time together, I took Lyra with me and flew back home to the Evergreen mountains, near the waterfall and buried her next to Eve. My own sister and I wasn't even there to help her. I had no idea what her last thoughts were but if I were her, I would be asking where the hell was I? Why wasn't anyone with her? Then bad news came when I was told that Ozpin's gone. I didn't believe them because I knew that he was alive somewhere. Now here I am, sitting on the edge of a cliff with the grave of Ruby's mother beside me. After I asked Taiyang about a place to think, he led me here. Still can't believe that he is Ruby and Yang's dad and the one who took care of Lyra for me. My mind constantly wanders off to what's happened leading to right now, especially that one moment.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Blake led me to someplace away from Ruby's home. She told me something and I couldn't help but feel saddened. "You're leaving?" I asked her._

 _"Yes." She nodded._

 _"But why?" I spoke softly._

 _"I…I just need to go away for a while." She looked away from me. "It's something I have to do alone."_

 _"After all we've been through, is this how you really wanna end things?" I looked her in the eyes._

 _"I guess so. But this isn't a goodbye, just a see you later." A single tear started dripping down her cheek._

 _"There's no way you'll let me go with you is there?" She shook her head as I wiped the tear off her and smiled. "In that case, please return once you're done ok? If not, I will go look for you. I love you." We kissed for the last time as she started walking away._

 _ **End of flashback**_

Grabbing a rock beside me, I threw it down the cliff and sighed. "Hey Idris." I heard Ruby say.

"Hey." I raised my hand then lowered it.

"You gonna be ok after you know?" She asked about Blake's departure and Lyra's passing.

"Yeah...I'll be fine. " I raised my hand and opened it letting a little ball of light shine.

I felt her put her hand on my shoulder. "Blake will come back someday. And Lyra wouldn't want you to be sad for her, she'd want you to move forward and be the person we all know and love."

Sighing once more, the ball vanished as I stood up now seeing that she was with Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren. "I know. So what're you gonna do now?"

"We're planning on going to Haven, wanna come?" Ren asked.

"What about Brandon?"

"He said he'd rather try to get Yang to be herself again. So wanna come with us?" This time Jaune asked.

Before I could answer, a bright figure shined between us. Seeing whose face it was, a small smile was shown on mine. "Hey Lucy. Long time no see."

"Certainly has been long. I've been watching over you and came here to say that the time has come."

"What do you mean?"

"The course the world is heading into is only growing more dangerous as time passes and I must prepare you for what is to come. Prepare your goodbyes, your training will be long and strenuous."

"Alright." I turned towards everyone. "I'll see you all later." I opened my arms as we all had one last group hug.

"Come back safe ok?" Ruby asked.

I ruffled her hair and nodded as Lucy raised her staff and we slowly began fading. "Tell everyone that I'll be gone. I'll be sure to finish fast so we can see each other again." I waved with a huge grin on my face as we vanished from their eyes.


	21. 21

"Woah." All I saw were skies that were a beautiful shade of red. There was a lake nearby surrounded by a flourishing garden and a giant tree which is decorated as if it were a home.

Lucy chuckled at my reaction. "I guess it is fascinating. Your training starts in an hour but in the meantime, feel free to do what you wish." She walked towards her home.

"Thank you." Walking around the place, it looked amazing. 'Reminds me a bit of home. Must be nice living here.' Following a brick path, it led me to a large clearing. Stretching a bit, I marched to the center of the area. Powering up to the max in my regular form, I practiced my punching and kicking. For each punch, I tried to get at least four kicks to follow. After a while, I moved from physical attacks to energy based. Starting by placing my hands together horizontally, I charged as much energy as I could. Blasting it with tremendous force, I appeared in front of it holding my hands out. I caught the blast, struggling to keep it at bay. Mustering up some energy, I managed to push it towards the sky.

"Impressive." Hearing Lucy, I got slightly startled.

I turned to notice that she changed into a black and white robe. "I've taken the liberty to prepare some clothing for you. This is what you will wear for the time being." She handed me a pair of clothes. "They are much more durable than your current attire so you shouldn't have any concern of it tearing during a battle."

I noticed that it was the same as my tournament gear with a silhouette of a great ape being displayed across the back of the shirt. "Awesome!" Changing into the new pair, I also noticed that it felt lighter as well.

"We'll start with a spar to gauge what techniques or attributes we'll need to work on."

"This feels great." I grinned then looked at her with determination. "Here I go." I shot an energy blast then moved behind her attempting to strike but she moved out of the way. I turned to see her behind me as she flicked my forehead and sent me flying. Catching myself, I started attempting a frontal assault only for her to block each of my punches. I tried kicking her but she grabbed my leg then pushed me back.

Using the multiform technique I learned a few days ago, I split myself into four and huddled together. "Alright guys what's the plan? Using this technique divides our power so we don't have much to work on." I asked them.

"So we know that she is much stronger than us." #2 pointed out.

"Single combat is out of the question so our best chance is to strike from all sides." #3 suggested.

#4 looked at her then back to us. "I'm in if you guys are."

"Worth a shot." I nodded. We stood side by side as #3 and #4 vanished from sight and showed up behind her. As one, we charged head on.

"My turn now." She smiled. Going much faster than we can follow, she knocked #3 and #4 aside easily and kicked back #2. I tried hitting her from above but she grabbed me by my neck and slammed me on the ground. I spun on the ground attempting to sweep her legs and she jumped to avoid it. This gave #2 and #3 a chance to blast her although she moved out of the way. We hoped that #4 would be able to get a hit on her but sadly, he was knocked back.

"This isn't working, what now?" #3 asked.

"Nothing we can do, plan's a bust. Time to merge back to at least have a better shot."

Going in close once more, I attacked with a barrage of punches. She block each and every strike with ease and would retaliate every now and then with a punch of her own which I could barely block. Just when I thought I was gonna land a shot on her, she knocked me down with a hard right punch. Rolling back, I took some heavy breaths. 'T-This is s-so much harder than I thought. I can't even land a single hit. This last move may hurt but it might work. Kaioken times ten!'

I immediately felt some of the strain but ignored it as I sped at a faster rate towards her. I lunged towards her and she blocked my punch which shook the area around is tremendously. Trying something else, I created multiple energy balls that surrounded her. Crossing my arms, they all launched to her, exploding on contact. 'It doesn't help that I can't sense her energy either. Can't stop now.' I shot multiple blasts into the smoke hoping one would hit.

I took some more heavy breaths as I felt my limit getting closer. I raised both my hands into the air and created two disks of energy. Throwing both disks, I quickly put my hands together making a triangle. 'Neo Tri-Beam!' Knowing that my energy drained faster with each shot, I stopped firing so I wouldn't collapse. I descended to the ground and tried not to move since the kaioken wore off and the full strain was there. The smoke finally cleared leaving multiple craters yet she wasn't there.

"I win." She appeared right in front of me, flicking my forehead and smiling. "Truthfully speaking, you harbor a massive amount of power but you use it so wastefully. Thankfully we have time to work on that. Come with me so you can eat then rest." She started walking before turning her head to me. "Aren't you coming?"

"I can't move and if I do, I'll feel pain. That's the side effect of the kaioken. If it's a level stronger than what I'm used to, my body receives a strain. Last time I used this, three was all I could manage and I just went to ten so you can imagine how much pain I'll be in with even the slightest movement." I moved a finger then let out a small cry of pain.

"I see, a rather risky move, but effective nonetheless. This should do the trick." She waved her hand over the top of my head as a green energy surrounded me. No sooner did all the pain start fading. Once it was gone, I moved my arms and legs around feeling glad.

"Thanks, this feels so much better." I followed her to her home. Entering her home, I noticed it was very well decorated. "You know, I've been wondering this for a while. If you are a goddess then why haven't you stopped the evil of the world?" We walked into the kitchen as she started cooking. I helped out too since my usual eating habits are much larger than normal and I know I'll need to pay her back for training me.

"My role is to guide, not set the way events would happen. If they turn for the worse, I'll allow them to solve it on their own. Although their pain wasn't lost on me which is why I brought you. When I was expanding my search, something drew me to you for a reason that I can't explain."

"So it was just by chance that you came to me, guess that makes more sense than me having a special quality." I smiled. Sitting down, I proceeded to eat just like I used to which means everything on the table. Luckily I helped her prepare her own meal too so we can both eat. After eating, I started washing the dishes. "I'll try my best to make you proud that's for sure." I grinned at her.

"You already have. Now get some rest, I have something planned for tomorrow." She instructed.

"Alright. Goodnight."

 _ **Next day**_

Getting up from bed, I slapped my face to make sure I would stay awake. I looked myself in the mirror to see some beard stubble on my face. 'About time it started growing. Can't believe it's been a month since I started.' Yawning loudly, I changed into my gear and walked out of my room. I looked around the house to see that Lucy wasn't home so I left to the lake a couple of miles away with a fishing rod in hand. I sat near the edge and casted my line. 'Been awhile since I've done this.' I inhaled and exhaled slowly, listening to the flow of the water and the wind breeze. My mind started reminiscing about one of the conversations I had with Blake.

 ** _Flashback start_**

 _Days after the events of Cinder's invasion, I've, in order to put it all behind me, been training each day. There were a few times where I've nearly hurt myself and despite the pleas from everyone, I continued training._

 _I tried to think back to when Lyra died and started powering up. My power level started growing and my hair was standing on end but I didn't feel a change within me. I kept going, trying to relive that moment and felt the same rage. My power level was fluctuating and I heard electricity sparking around me. If I pushed even further, I knew I could've done it but my body forced me to power down. I sat on the ground and wiped my hand across my forehead. "What's wrong with me? Am I not yet capable of transforming again into a Super Saiyan? All the requirements are there but I can't do it..."_

 _"How's training?" Blake asked as she walked up to me and dropped a towel on my face._

 _"Same as usual." I dried my head off._

 _"You should really take it easy when training before you hurt yourself."_

 _"I'll be fi-" In the middle of trying to sit up, a jolt of pain sparked in my left arm that was still healing from the wounds I suffered a couple days ago when trying to catch an attack of mine went wrong. "fine."_

 _She shrugged her shoulders. "Ok but if you end up training to the point that you can't use your body anymore, I am not carrying you anywhere, you'll have to just lie there and I'll leave you for Ruby."_

 _I smiled and sat with my back against a tree. "Alright alright I'll stop for today, no need to be mean about it. So can I ask you a question?"_

 _"Yeah?" She said and sat next to me._

 _"What changed your mind of wanting to go with me to the dance all those months ago?"_

 _"Well, it was all thanks to Ruby, Weiss, and Yang. They made it their goal to change my mind and they brought of a lot of good points about you. How you're always kind to everyone and how you're dedicated to put a smile on all our faces and you've helped us all in different ways. That got me to thinking of how great of a person you were and how happy I get whenever I was around you and I feel like I made the right choice." She kissed my cheek._

 _"I think I'll start taking it easy for next few days, just for you." I tapped her nose._

 _"Thanks." She hugged me causing a jolt of pain to run through my arm. I grunted slightly as she rapidly let go off me. "Sorry. Now I've got a question for you, what made you want to come to Remnant?"_

 _I stayed silent then sighed. "You know, I don't think I ever told anyone, not even Ozpin and Goodwitch what else was going through my mind during that decision. Yes I wanted to help people but the second reason why was because it was a way to escape my old life. I was tired of doing the same thing everyday. I didn't have much planned for my future and schoolwork always kept me away from doing what I loved to do. Adjusting to this new world was difficult and the reminder that I abandoned my friends and family haunted me." I banged the back of my head against the tree lightly. "What got me away from that thought was Eve. Despite her not being my real mother, I loved her as if she was. When she died, I was lost, then the chance to attend Beacon came and it was the best decision I made as I now have many friends who I can call family. Then there's you, I honestly doubted I'd find love on Earth or here on Remnant, but sitting here next to you, I feel like all my worries are gone and I'm the happiest I've ever been."_

 _Her cheeks blushed a bright red. "I don't know what to say."_

 _"Then don't." I kissed her forehead softly as she laid her head on my shoulder as we both gazed at the clear sky._

 _ **Flashback end**_

My fishing rod began to be pulled fiercely and I pulled back in hopes of getting something good. "C-Come on you d-demon!" I struggled for a few more seconds before finally using enough strength to launch it out of the water as I fell on my back. I didn't hear a thud or anything which made me curious. I moved my head back making everything upside down and saw Lucy along with two others. The other two were a tall light blue man and a purple cat. 'Wait…blue man and purple cat...oh crap.'

"So this is the one you're training Lucy." Whis spoke.

"Not as powerful as our little monkeys though." Beerus, with my fish in hand, commented.

"Why are Lord Beerus and Whis here?!" I gasped.

"You actually know us?" Beerus asked.

"From his original universe, your universe is a story which has been famous for three decades. It was televised for all to enjoy and even made into films or video games, most of which, he's known since he was a young child." Lucy explained.

"Is that so? Does this mean you're caught up with our current events?" Whis asked me.

"Where are you guys currently?"

"It's been a couple of weeks since Goku and Vegeta's battle with Frieza and they are currently training."

I walked towards a tree and banged my head on it. "Why did you do that?" Lucy asked.

"The english dub of the movie about Frieza's revival was supposed to premiere in August back on Earth and I missed it." I said with slight depression. "And just when I had already bought a ticket to go watch it."

"Anyways...he may not be as impressive as you would've expected Lord Beerus but that's because he's still young. Compared to Goku and Vegeta, he is considerably below their current pace."

"Nonetheless, would it be alright if I had a little spar with him?" Beerus asked her.

"She is right my lord." spoke Whis. "His current power, even at max is half of what Goku had when he went to fight Frieza on Namek decades ago.

"That's certainly disappointing, I would've enjoyed having another monkey to challenge me. Can you at least prepare this fish for me before we take him?"

"Certainly." The three of them began leaving.

"But that's my fish… Guess I'll have to catch another one." I was about to cast my line before something hit me. 'What did he mean by take him? Where am I going?'

 _ **Hour later**_

My line got pulled meaning I finally snagged something. "Awesome!" I eagerly grabbed my fishing rod and pulled. "Let's see if this one's any bigger or at least the same size as the other one." Adding in extra effort I was able to catch it. Looking at the fruit of my work, I felt grateful that it was a fish of the same size. "I'm pretty sure there was someway to prepare this before cooking but I'm hungry so..." I grabbed some wood and made a small fire and waited then ate. As I gobbled that fish down piece by piece, I remembered that in my old life and that I never really ate fish or any other type of seafood. Burping loudly, I patted my stomach and stacked the fish bones to make a small tower. "That sure was good." Few moments later and my stomach rumbled in disagreement. "Yep, should've asked Lucy." I felt myself getting slightly sick.

"Now that you've eaten, you're ready to come with us." Whis said next to my face scaring me. "And this should cure the sickness." He handed me a small green bean.

Knowing that it was a senzu bean, I ate it and immediately felt better. "Thanks. So where are you taking me exactly?" I stood up and dusted myself off.

"There's a little place we can take you to train that belongs to an acquaintance of ours. There you'll be sure to grow strong enough and Ms. Lucy is coming with us so she can continue your training. We would train you but you are below our requirements." He said.

"Be sure to drop me off back home Whis before you take them wherever you planned for them to go, eating Lucy's cooking has made me rather weary." Beerus yawned.

"But of course my lord." Raising his staff, a purple sphere projected around us. "This may take a while so please be patient."

 ** _Two trips later_**

With the exception of Beerus, we arrived at a temple that immediately sparked my memory. "Wait, this is the lookout!" I ran to the edge to see that my assumption was correct as the whole structure floated high in the sky. 'Alright, calm yourself down. You can't get too excited although this is basically a dream come true.' I breathed in and out calming myself. "Why are we here?"

"Lucy asked if there was a place where results can be shown quickly, so I asked the young namekian that lives here if you and her can borrow the chamber." I followed him down to the entrance of the chamber. "From what he told me, the maximum is three days so when time is up, this door will open." He opened the door, guiding us in. "Good luck." He shut the door.

I looked at the white space that was the chamber and whistled in amazement. 'This is what it's like inside this place. It seems to have no barrier, just an endless space which'll be my only sight for two years.


	22. 22

The time I've spent in this chamber is almost over and I feel like I'm ready. I got up and wrapped my regrown tail around my waist and straightened the hair from my now full beard. The door opened revealing the one and only Dende himself. "You may exit the chamber now. Oh and Whis said that he'll arrive shortly."

"Thank you for letting me train in the Time Chamber Dende, I appreciate it." I smiled to him which he returned the same expression then looked over to Lucy. "Think you can get us back to Remnant?"

Before she could answer, Whis appeared near us with Beerus in tow and two men who you'd have to be brain dead not to recognize. 'Holy sh-' I couldn't finish my thought as the two men looked at me.

"Who's he?" Vegeta walked up to me then looked at my tail and smiled. "So he's a saiyan, and I doubt he's a half breed because he gives off no feeling of being part human. Strange, I thought Kakarot and I were the only full blooded saiyans alive."

"He's not from this universe, I thought I explained the whole story to both of you yesterday." Whis said.

"In that case, what's your Earth like?" Goku asked me. "Also how famous are we?"

"A nice planet to live on and you two are very famous, I watched your show all the time as a kid and I'm surprised I haven't passed out from meeting both of you. What're you doing here anyways?"

"Kakarot and I plan to train for this tournament that was set up by Lord Beerus and his brother who's apparently the God of Destruction for a universe opposite of ours." Vegeta answered.

"Awesome! Can I join?"

He was about to respond but Whis interrupted. "Enough chatting boys, this one has to go back to his universe." He added, shocking Goku and Vegeta.

"If you don't mind, can you show us your power before you go?" Goku asked.

"Sure, if you don't mind showing me yours as well."

"Deal."

I quickly went Super Saiyan then flared my energy, becoming a Super Saiyan Two. Not stopping there, I went all out which made my aura triple in size and shake the lookout. "Kaioken times twenty!" My body had a red glow and a red aura within the yellow SS aura. I powered down and took a small breath.

"Impressive, he is much younger yet far surpassed the strength I had when I fought Beerus at full power." Vegeta smiled. "The advantage of training nonstop with an angel truly works wonders. Although it has been rather long since then and I've gotten much stronger."

"My turn." Goku started powering up and when he reached peak of his base form, I sensed that he was beyond the power I had in my base. As he transformed and raised his power level, his strength was already nearing what I had in Super Saiyan. Upon getting to max as a Super Saiyan, his power surpassed it. He kept on going and became a Super Saiyan Two with the power gap growing exponentially further as he surpassed my Kaioken fused Super Saiyan Two form. My body started shaking when he went even further beyond and turned into a Super Saiyan Three. His ki vanished from my senses when he became a saiyan god but the same feeling was still there. One more form was left as his hair and eyes both became blue along with his aura. He held onto the form for a few seconds before going back to normal. "What do you think?"

"Incredible…So much power…You guys are leagues above me…"

"Thank, I worked extremely hard to get to where I am, Vegeta did the same as well. Although don't let it stump you, be proud of how hard you've come, the amount of work you put in, and the amount of times you kept pushing farther." Goku smiled.

Vegeta smiled as well. "Much as I hate to say it kid, he's right. More importantly you are a saiyan, and we do not give up when it comes to breaking any limit set before us. We'd rather die before admitting defeat to anything or anyone, even if we know we are outmatched."

"Of course."

"Now with that settled, let's get both of you home." Whis placed his hand on my shoulder as we started teleporting.

 ** _Back to Lucy's world_**

"Here you go. Now remember, if you ever want to go back to our universe, just give us a call." He said before leaving.

"Now that you've completed your training, you are able to go back. Anything to say before I take you back?" Lucy asked me.

"Actually, could I stay for a while longer, I don't think I'm ready to go back yet."

"Are you sure, I thought you would've wanted to go back home by now?"

"I did but I still got things to think over and I need to repay you for all the training you've given me which is also why I want to stay. So could you allow me some more time here?"

She smiled. "Of course although it'd be best if you go home soon because I'm pretty sure your friends miss you."

I knew what she said was true but I decided to stay anyways. Before I knew it, a good amount of time passed since my decision and throughout that time, I did things ranging from yard work to taking care of pets that she had which was a strange thing cause some were much bigger than me and I think I might've seen a rancor that one time I went. I even learned how to cook since there were days I didn't have any work to do. I also kept up with my training as to not grow sloppy. Now I felt ready to go back after so long. I was sent home and the first thing I saw was green. Looking around me, I see that I was brought back to my house in the Evergreen Mountains. Walking around the house, I noticed that everything looked the same as it did when I first left it. I checked around the inside of the house to see that it was also the same. In the middle of reminiscing, a familiar energy signal appeared close by. I headed towards the living room and saw who was there.

"You actually came back…"

Cinder set her book down on the counter and got up. Her hair was now short like it used to be and she was wearing a longer variation of the dress she wore but with her left sleeve covering her entire arm and there being no sleeve on her right along with wearing an arm length glove. "Of course I did, you are my son. I was the one who found you and took care of you so it is my responsibility to fix what I've done wrong."

"I'm still kinda on edge about you since our battle. You knew who I was and yet you still tried to kill me,"

"It's not like I had a choice. Besides, even if you may hate me now, something bad is going on and it involves you."

"How bad exactly?"

"Well after our fight back at Beacon, White Fang soldiers somehow gathered samples of your blood. Don't ask me how because that confuses me as well but it is what they plan on doing with those samples that's bad. They plan on merging your DNA with theirs to create a super soldier of sorts."

I raised an eyebrow. "That certainly is troubling but I wouldn't worry about it too much. Even if it did work, the power I had during the time would take them a long time to possess and I'm exponentially stronger than I was during my fight. Although the right course would be to stop them which is what we should do."

"Then first thing tomorrow morning we will go after them."

 _ **Tomorrow**_

"Good morning." I opened my eyes to see Cinder standing over me.

Remembering what happened yesterday, I sat up calmly. "Morning, what's on the agenda?"

"The White Fang gave multiple of their research centers parts of your dna in hopes to expand their army at a faster rate. If we can destroy each of them, we can stop the threat before it begins."

"How many locations are there?"

"In total there are four locations, each scattered in parts of each kingdom. As I said before, they've been experimenting ever since our fight so it's questionable if they are getting closer to their goal or not. I destroyed the one close to Vale so all that's left is to visit Vacuo then Atlas then Mistral."

"First place we can start is Vacuo. Should be a couple days journey if we were to walk but since we can both fly, should be at least a day." I suggested.

"Less if we go faster." She added as we walked outside. "Think you can catch up." She smiled.

I smiled back as I wrapped mom's scarf around me, covering my mouth. "I've grown much stronger so I'm very confident that I can."

We both flew high into the air then went west to Vacuo. I stuck to looking at the landscape since I would notice types of grimm that I haven't seen and actual animals that I rarely saw in Remnant besides Ruby and Yang's dog Zwei. I still remember when I first met him. One look at me and he pounced onto me and began licking my face until I was covered in drool, not that I minded of course since I always loved dogs although I never got to raise one. Ruby once told me that Oobleck used his weapon to light Zwei on fire then launch him towards some mechs when they went on their mission months ago while I was fighting my counterpart, which I thought was insane considering he was a regular corgi that survived that being done to him. I wonder if Zwei's indestructible sometimes.

The transition from the greenery of Vale to the sandy desert that Vacuo had certainly was nice. That was until a giant worm type grimm tried to snatch us out of the sky. I blasted it which alerted more of them and it took some time for us to handle them. Slowly but surely we took care of them. Less trouble for the locals I guess. I swear, they looked like that space worm in Empire Strikes Back where Han was flying as fast as he could to get out of what he thought was a cave but cooler and styled after centipedes.

We were closing in on the city so we flew towards the ground and began walking the rest of the way. Looking at my scroll, I saw that three or four hours have passed since we left.

I looked around and saw two kids kicking a ball around. They kicked the ball too far as it landed and rolled to me. Seeing two of them run over to us, I picked up the ball. "Can we have the ball back mister...?" The boy with short brick red hair and olive green eyes tried to figure out my name.

"Idris." I placed it on the floor and kicked it over to him. "Be careful alright?"

"Wait!" The girl with medium length black hair and brown eyes called out. "I know you! You're the super strong guy from the tournament!"

"No way that can be him, he lost his tail, don't you remember?" He added.

"Look at him dummy, the black hair and brown tail, it must be him." She said.

"Alright kids calm down. Yes I'm the super strong guy." I chuckled. "Don't mind the beard, I've been growing it these past few months."

"See I told you!" She crossed her arms in triumph and smiled. "Are you new to Vacuo, we can give you a tour of the city if you'd like?"

"Yeah we know our way around the streets." The boy clarified.

"Sorry kids, I-" I stopped upon seeing them give me the puppy eyes. "...well I guess I can be with you two for a little while, think you can find us a place to stay?" I looked at Cinder.

"Gladly." She nodded as she left.

Looking back at the kids, they now had a very excited expression. "My name is Octavius Ember but everyone calls me Otto and this is Michelle Darcy." The boy introduced himself and the girl.

"Nice to meet you both." I raised the scarf to cover my mouth. "So where are you taking me first?" Each one grabbed a hand of mine as they started dragging me around.

 _ **Many locations later, leading to a small park**_

"Wow, I think you both explained every nook and cranny of this place." I walked with both on each of my shoulders, eating ice cream.

"As we said mister, we know a lot about the city, bet you're glad that we gave you a tour huh?" Otto gave a huge smile.

"I'm very grateful that you di-"

"What're you doing with my brother and Gwen's sister?" Looking behind me, I saw a woman with long brick red hair and olive green eyes holding a dagger to my back. Thinking back, she was part of the team who fought against Sun and his team.

"Don't hurt him Octavia, we were just giving him a tour. This is the guy from the tournament. The one from Beacon that you told mom was cu-."

"Alright I get it!" With a small visible blush, she lowered her dagger as I grabbed the kids and set them down. "Sorry for that, I've been trying to find them all day."

"No it's fine. Believe me, I had two younger siblings so I know the feeling."

"What brings you to Vacuo?" She asked me.

"Just sightseeing for a few days before I go to Atlas then Mistral. Thought it'd be best to explore the other kingdoms and see how different they are."

"In that case, let me properly welcome you to Vacuo." She then turned to the kids. "Now I want you to go straight home, same goes for you Michelle or there will be a punishment."

"Yes ma'am!" They saluted before running as fast as they could.

"Wow." I said.

"They now I care for them. Come, if you're visiting Vacuo, you might as well visit Shade Academy."

On the way there, she asked me about traveling to here and I told her about those worm grimm. "Hold up, you actually fought some of the wigglers on the way here?" She asked.

"Wigglers...that's what they're called?" I gave her a blank stare.

"Blame history for that." She shrugged her shoulders. "I so would've gone with the name-"

"There you are, did you find them?" Three girls that I remember being Octavia's teammates showed up.

"Yeah and they went back home so no need to worry Gwen."

Gwen sighed in relief. "Thanks, and who's the guy?"

"He's traveling through the kingdoms so I thought I'd show him Shade Academy since Otto and Michelle forced him to let them give him a tour of Vacuo."

"Sorry for that but I made sure they were safe." I told them.

"Thank you." Octavia told me.

"Wait a minute." Nebula walked up and examined me. "You're the one from the tournament, Idris right? Nice to finally meet you. After showing how heavy your gear was and how strong you were, you became the talk of the school. How about a little one on one?" She smiled.

"You sure about this Neb?" Dew asked. "You saw what he did to Lloyd and Gracie by himself."

I looked at Nebula with a smile. "Guess I have to own up to the challenge, you're on."

"Awesome, follow me." Nebula led the way with the girls and I following.

On the way there, I called Cinder. She said she found a place to stay and I told her to meet me at the Shade Academy sparring room. Entering the room, I started stretching. "Been awhile since I sparred against someone else. Hope I can keep up."

"Don't worry, I'll take it easy on you." She took out her crossbow and shifted it into a sword.

"Sure you don't wanna invite the rest of the girls? Might make it more fun." I smiled.

"Well if you insist." The rest of the girls joined her and prepared their weapons before circling around me. "Here we go!" All four closed in on me so I jumped. In mid air, I saw Gwen throws three knives which I caught and threw back. Seeing Dew thrust her spear forward, I was barely able to balance myself on top of her weapon before hitting her face with my tail then jumping behind her. Octavia and Nebula ran at me and prepared a flurry of attacks. I dodged each attack before kicking them both back.

'I have to think back on their match against Sun and his team. Let's see, flawless teamwork,' I grabbed a knife Gwen threw and used it to block Octavia before jumping back to get some distance. 'great strategy, and always stay close to one another. I wonder if separating them would do the trick.' I grabbed Dew's spear mid-thrust and kicked her back, causing her to let go of the weapon. Using it to my advantage, I blocked a couple of arrows that Nebula shot and propelled myself to her. Succeeding in dropkicking her, I threw the blunt end of the spear back at Dew, knocking her down and threw the knife back to Gwen which pierced her clothes, sticking her to the wall. With them occupied for the moment and Nebula on the floor, I got up close to Octavia.

I took a few shots at her which she dodged and she retaliated with a swipe of her dagger which I ducked under. I used my tail to wrap around her leg and picked her up. I had to let her go and jump back again when I saw Dew create a few whirlpools that launched the knives and arrows that were thrown in there. 'Worked well enough although they can quickly regroup meaning that I need to ramp it up.' I stood still as they all ran towards me. At the last moment, I moved at a speed faster than they can see to hit each one in the stomach. They soon dropped to the ground.

A few claps filled the room which were from Cinder who stood at the entrance. "Marvelous display as usual."

"Who's she?" Dew asked with her arm on her stomach.

"This is my mom, Cinder. She wanted to travel with me since she thought it'd be nice if we went together." I introduced her.

"I do hope my son hasn't been troubling you four." She said.

"No, in fact, this spar only means that we have a lot of improvement to do if we want to win the next tournament, right girls?" Nebula asked them.

"Right!" They agreed.

"Better not go easy on us next time." Octavia said.

"Wouldn't dream of it." I smiled to her.

Cinder and I waved goodbye to them as we started walking away. "I found out the exact location while you were busy, we should strike tomorrow if possible." She told me.

"I guess we can and if they are gaining some progress in mutation, I should be able to sense their power levels. All I'm hoping is that it's far from the city."

"It is, should be east of the city limits. I know how to get in because I tailed a few people I know that have worked in that facility."

"Wow, you certainly do have connections don't you?"

"A lot happened in the time I spent making my plans go to perfection." We arrived at the hotel and walked into our room.

A few hours after going to bed, I suddenly woke up and looked at the clock to see that it was one a.m. Gazing outside the window, I took out my scroll and dialed someone's number hoping that the person would answer. The call went to voicemail and heard the beep. "Hey, uhh how have things been these past few months...Just finished training a few days ago so yeah..." Not wanting to prolong the call, I sighed. "Please be safe." I hung up and stuffed the scroll into my pocket.

"Lady troubles?" I heard Cinder ask. "Don't get yourself too worked up or you may seem desperate which is something you don't want her to see." She yawned.

Sitting down on my bed, I looked at my scroll then put it aside. "Easier said than done after what I've been through when I was gone." I said, referring to my training which summed up to three years and three months without any of my friends or Blake.

"You must really like this girl don't you?"

"Like? More like love. Maybe after our mission is done, I'll go find her and bring her home."

"In that case…" She threw one of her pillows at my face and smiled. "go to sleep cause we've got work to do tomorrow."

"Can I tell you something?"

"Go ahead."

"What you said yesterday. I don't hate you, you know, at least not anymore."

"You don't?"

"I've had a lot of time to think things over but...can you please explain why you left? That is all I want to know."

"I can't tell you that, not now at least."

"Then can you at least tell me who Eve was? Why leave me with her?"

"...Because she was the one who took me in. I was an orphan alone by herself wandering the woods. She found me and treated me like her own daughter. That's why I handed you over to her."

"So she'd be my grandmother then?"

She smiled. "Sure, I guess you could say that and I never got to tell you this but I'm shocked to see how strong you were. Maidens were rumored to be extremely powerful but you surpassed it."

I smiled. "What can I say, you and grandma both raised a saiyan warrior who still has yet to find his limit. Goodnight...mom."


	23. 23

"So the plan is that we both masquerade ourselves as White Fang soldiers and enter the facility with the blood sample you took from me earlier. Once we get in and they show us where to go, I'll destroy the sample and their lab so they don't continue in the future." I summarized.

"Precisely, but first we must disable their communications so they don't warn the other facilities which is something I can do easily. If all goes well then we should be able to do the same for the other lab."

"I want to minimize casualties so only aim to subdue them, we don't need blood on our hands."

 **The Abandoned Russo Research Center**

"This is the place." She told me as she knocked on the door in a specific pattern.

Moments later a man with long graying hair and snake-like eyes opened the door. "May I help you?" The man asked.

"We were able to retrieve a sample of that dna you were working on. Luckily he was distracted before he can notice that we took his blood." I said, handing him the small container.

The man smiled widely and held it tightly. "Marvelous! Normally I would ask how exactly you got this but as I'm too excited, please bring it in! My name is Samson by the way." He said eagerly and started walking as we followed him. "I'm really glad that you brought us some of his blood. Progress has been quite frustrating since they gave us very little to work with compared to what the other facilities in the other three kingdoms given many months ago. I haven't been able to contact the one in Vale so I believe something went terribly wrong with their procedure, but despite that, now that we have a better sample here, we can finally begin to find out more information about him."

"How much progress have you made?" She asked him.

"In the months we've spent working, not much. We have barely been able to grasp the working of that boy's dna. Although I didn't exactly understand at first why we were to experiment with the dna of a faunus, I was shocked to see that his dna was very unique compared to anyone in Remnant. I never knew such a thing existed. From what we know, the structure of his dna makes him much more durable than most metals in this world and his capabilities are at a much higher level." He opened two doors leading to a giant lab with a dozen different scientists working there. He called one of the scientists over, asking him to retrieve something. The scientist came back with a small bag.

Samson took it out of his hands and gave him the container which he took. "It may not be much, but take this as a token of appreciation for helping us advance our research." He handed it to me.

I gave the bag to Cinder then nodded to her. "Excuse me, I must make a call." She said, leaving the room.

"Say Samson, after all the research you've done, what exactly are your intentions in regards to your plans?"

"Hmm, my intention is to research as much as we possibly can so we should have results in a week or two thanks to you two. Now they want us to create something that would actually enhance our soldiers which is a totally different story. So what I had planned is that once we have developed a serum, then we'd inject them into some volunteers in hopes of success. If results don't go as well as expected, then we would go back to formula, after all, what I want is for this to work without hurting anyone." He answered. "Continuing despite there being problems and not fixing them is something I will never allow as long as I remain as a man of science."

"That's actually kind of surprising to hear."

"Many would say the same. We must do what we can to advance our efforts in hopes of sustaining our faunus lineage if we are to survive in this world. Despite how the world sees us, there are those like me in the White Fang that don't enjoy being put into situations we never approved of. In these trying times, faunus remain outnumbered by humans and our numbers dwindle with each act of violence. I don't care about the differences between humans and faunus, what I do care about is what we can all as a united group do against the creatures of grimm. If we can end them, then maybe true peace can begin."

"I know a few people who would say the same." I told him. 'Seems almost like a waste, knowing that I'm gonna have to destroy this place.'

"Although knowing how the other lab in Atlas thinks, I don't think they'd be very merciful to their subjects or agree with my thoughts. I sent a few of my scientists to see what they've done and from what I was told, they've already have had some kind of forced mutation. Seems as though they don't plan on simple enhancements but plan on fusing the dna with that of their own soldiers then attempt to even create some from their findings. My problem with that is what if they succeed but their experiments rebelled against them. This would spell devastation for not only humans, but for all faunus as well. After all, with creatures made from that dna, it would not take long till they overwhelm anyone in strength."

"Sorry for taking too long, I had to do something important." Cinder walked up to us. "Did I miss anything?"

"Nothing much my dear." He said. "Just mindless drabble between two men."

I nodded to her as she placed her hand on her watch then pressed a button, causing the lights to flicker before everything in the building shut down and an alarm began to ring as a couple of guards stormed in. "Professor, our comms are down and so is the power. We have to evacuate if this is a breach." One of them said with a dim red light lighting the room.

With Cinder standing behind me, I quickly placed my hands in front of my head. 'Solar Flare!' A bright light that blinded everyone in the room except Cinder lit the room then vanished. With them not being able to see, she materialized her twin swords and began taking down some of the guards. For the scientists, I made sure to hit each one in certain pressure points as to not cause them a lot of pain. We seemed to be able to clear the room within a few minutes as the power turned back on. I walked up to Samson who looked at the unconscious bodies then Cinder and I before taking out a machete from his coat.

"Why did you do this?! Think of all the lives we could've saved in the future!" He yelled as he charged at me. He swung down as I blocked it with my hand. "All our work gone!" He then had a moment of realization. "It was you two, you must've destroyed the center in Vale!"

Not wanting to speak, I punched him in the stomach then kicked his face in order to knock him out. We tied him up along with the rest of the guards and scientists then dragged them outside. I looked over my shoulder to Samson and sighed before walking back inside. I grabbed all their research and stuffed them in a pile and set them on fire shortly after.

"What should we do with them?" Cinder asked me.

"We should take them to jail then we go to Atlas tomorrow morning since it's already getting late." I took off the mask and hood and looked to see the sun setting as I sensed someone's energy moving. "I'll meet you in the city." I followed the source by jumping through the branches.

Closing in on who it was, I jumped down onto them to see that it was a man wearing a black White Fang uniform and held two fingers to his head, imitating a gun. "Alright, wanna tell me why you were spying on us?"

"No not really." He struggled to say as I continued pushing my fingers to his head.

"I can redirect my energy to my fingers and can really blow your head off." I warned him.

"You're bluffing." He said. I shrugged my shoulders as I moved my fingers to his leg and charged energy to my fingers then burned his leg. He yelled in pain as I placed my fingers back to his head. "Ok ok! I was sent here from Atlas by Winter Schnee!"

"Why would she send you?"

"Our sensors picked up unusual spikes of energy here in Vacuo so I was sent to investigate then report back to her but I guess you beat me to the punch." I removed my foot from his leg and placed his arm around as I helped him up. "The uniform was meant to be a disguise which you and that woman thought of too."

"Sorry for burning you then, hope there's no hard feelings."

"You get used to it since it's part of the job. Luckily things like this doesn't happen too often or I would want a new position." He smiled then reached into his pocket, taking out his scroll and calling someone. Moments later, an airship came and landed in front of us. The first to get off the ship was Winter herself. Two men followed as they escorted Gray to the airship.

"Fancy meeting you here." She said.

"How has Weiss been?"

"She's been doing ok these past few months. Why are you here?"

"I'm here to stop the White Fang from making a terrible mistake."

"Care to tell me why you've made it your objective to do this kind of work?"

I shook my head. "All I will tell you is that it involves my blood. Ask Weiss if you want to know more because the next location is in Atlas. The scientists and guards are tied up so you can interrogate them if you want." I said before walking away. I turned back to look at her. "Oh and for Samson, don't give him a harsh punishment, he was working to ensure the safety of faunus, not for the destruction of humans. Also, leave this task to me, make sure nobody from the military know that I was involved, not even Ironwood."

"Normally I wouldn't be discreet about my reports but I may let it slide this time."

"Thank you." Pulling out my scroll, I dialed someone I knew from Atlas. "Hey."

"Didn't expect a call from you after all this time." The person responded. "What took you so long?"

"Look, I'll be in Atlas in a few days, think we can meet up and talk?" I asked.

"Sure."

Being told the location, I hung up then continued walking back to Cinder sitting next to the two groups of tied up people. "Turns out the guy I chased was part of the Atlas military. They're coming to pick these guys up so it'd be best if we start making our way to Atlas cause I got a guy over there who can help us."

"That's good to know, makes our job easier although we have to lay low cause we don't want to cause much of an uproar and end up with the military involved."

"We shouldn't need to worry about that anymore. Let's go."


	24. 24

Flying alongside Cinder on our way to Atlas certainly gave a few dazzling sights. Although my mind kept going back to the past. I thought about a few things then I ended up losing myself in a memory, one I would never dare to forget.

 _ **Memory start**_

It was a few days after the assignment of our missions and I found myself in my bathroom, getting ready.

"Ok this is now or never, you went to the dance with her and she enjoyed it. If you can withstand everything that's happened then you can definitely do this…" I spoke to my image in the mirror before sighing and slapping my cheeks lightly. "This is gonna go badly."

Walking out of my room, I knocked on Team RWBY's door and waited. "Come in!" Ruby yelled.

I opened the door as Zwei came running and pounced onto me, licking my face in the process. "Zwei!" I laughed then held him and rubbed his belly. "You little rascal. Hey Ruby."

"Hey." She waved from her bed, reading the first issue of Camp Camp.

"Is that mine cause I swear I had bought that two days ago?"

"Yeah, I took it from your room." She blurted out then covered her mouth.

"Why did you take it?"

"I saw you read it during lunch and I didn't have time to go to Vale and buy a copy of my own so I took it when you weren't in your room. Please don't take it away from me, I'm still reading it!" She said, hugging the comic.

"I would've lent it to you or at least read it with you if you asked me to. Bring it back to me once you're done with it. Anyways where's Blake, I've been meaning to ask her something?"

"You're gonna ask her on a date aren't you?" She looked at me with an excited smile.

My face went a few shades of red. "How did you know that?"

"Call it a hunch and she's in the library with Weiss. Good luck."

"Thanks. Don't tell anyone about this and I may even show you the animated series." I put Zwei down and left the room, heading to the library. Walking in, I found Blake and Weiss working on some homework. "There you are."

"We're trying to finish a project for Professor Port so say what you need to say quickly." Weiss said.

"Alright. Blake I know we've most spent time together in the school but do you wanna go out to Vale with me, like a real date?" Soon as I asked, she stopped working as well as Weiss. It was silent for a few moments which made me kind of anxious.

"S-Sure." She said with a very faint blush and a smile. "I'll call you when I'm done with this assignment."

"Ok." I grinned back to her and started to leave with my tail moving excitedly as if it were a dog's tail. When I got out of the building, I couldn't contain myself anymore as I started jumping like an idiot. "She said yes!" I joyfully yelled. Calming myself down, I went back to see Ruby.

"So what'd she say?" Ruby asked. The best I could do was smile which gave her the answer. "Oh my god!" She squealed. "I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks."

"Before you left, you said that Camp Camp was made into an show, can we watch it?" She asked.

"I think we have enough time to get through the first few episodes." I pulled out my scroll and sat next to her on Weiss's bed with Zwei sitting on my shoulder.

 ** _Hour and a half later_**

"That...was...amazing!" She cheered while Zwei did some flips of excitement. "The first episode where David was hit by the bus was hilarious to watch a few times over and over. Although I feel bad for the animals who fought the quartermaster in the second episode."

"I felt the exact same when I first watched it. Luckily there are a few more episodes we can wa-" I was interrupted by the ringing of my scroll. I saw that it was Blake who messaged me, saying that she is finished and is waiting outside Port's classroom. "You ok with watching them later?" I asked Ruby.

"Definitely."

"Should've asked this earlier but what's Yang been up to today?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I think she's been trying to catch up with some classes then went to train after what happened during our mission."

"Shouldn't you be doing the same?"

"I'll do it later."

"Alright then, bye." I headed over to Port's and saw Blake standing outside the door. "Ready?"

"Yeah."

 _ **Vale**_

"So what'd you wanna do first?"

She looked at me with confusion. "I thought you had something planned."

"Honestly I didn't think I'd get this far but luckily a new bookstore opened a few days ago, wanna go there?"

"Sure, I've been meaning to get new books." She said with a smile.

We walked alongside her and I tried to contain myself then sighed. 'So far so good.' I thought to myself. We walked in and was greeted by a small boy.

"Hi my name is John, my mom is out for a bit so if you need help, just ask." He waved at us.

"Thank you." I nodded to him. We spent half an hour before going to the counter and purchasing what we needed then left. "I think you bought enough books to last you a year." I looked at the bag she held that was filled to the brim.

"I usually read these really quickly. At most these should last me a month or two." She said nonchalantly.

I held my finger out to say something then put it back down. "Well I shouldn't be one to talk since I can eat large amounts of food at a faster pace which reminds me, wanna go eat?"

"I'd like to."

After finding a nearby diner, we ordered our food and sat down next to each other in a booth. Once our food arrived, we started talking about what happened on our missions. "You knocked out Roman and then took on a bunch of grimm? Wow, girl power at its finest." I joked.

"Well it's not like I took down an evil spirit version of myself unlike you. Ozpin must really trust you if he let you go by yourself."

"It wasn't like anyone would've been able to handle it other than me and I was pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to make it back. I only survived cause he ended up pushing his body too far and he made the mistake of helping me transform. You know, sometimes I think Ms. Goodwitch is there to keep Ozpin in check cause he allowed you and the girls to go on a mission available only to older students."

She laughed a bit. "Yeah I think so too. What was it like living up in the mountains outside of Vale?"

"It was pretty cool since I got to explore. Luckily where we lived, there were very few grimm to be found. I remember seeing an actual monkey and I challenged him to see who could hang upside down by their tail the longest. I didn't win but to be fair, I was six when that happened so it is completely justified plus the blood rushing to my head certainly didn't help." I crossed my arms, getting her to laugh. Feeling some stares from behind us, I looked around the place and saw nothing except a single strand of curly blonde hair behind a booth at the far end of the diner. 'Is that them?' I questioned then looked back to Blake.

"I can't help but wonder, was your mom human or faunus?" She asked.

"She was human when she found me. Raised me all by herself too."

"She seemed like a very good person judging by the way she raised you."

I lowered my eyes and smiled. "She was and the surprise that she would've had if she met you would've been priceless." I said as I drank the last of my soda. I noticed her expression turn slightly guilty so I placed my hand on her head. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine. We should leave, it's getting kind of late."

"Alright."

We walked out of the diner and continued for a few blocks until we saw two old men playing music on the sidewalk, with a small crowd around them. We approached them and I noticed that one had an acoustic guitar and the other a trumpet. They just finished their song as people clapped and gave them some money.

I looked at Blake to see she was still somewhat gloomy so I looked at the two men and walked up to them. "Mind if I get a shot?" I whispered, while pointing to her.

Getting the idea, he handed me his guitar. "Sure kid, name's Charles by the way and that's Huey." He pointed to his friend with the trumpet.

"If you need me to play something with you, I'm more than glad to." Huey told me with a smile.

"Thanks." Taking a few breaths, I turned to face the small crowd and Blake. I looked over to Charles and Huey and they gave me a thumbs up. 'Here goes.' I gave Blake a smile then starting playing.

 _You're a falling star, you're the getaway car_

 _You're the line in the sand when I go too far_

 _You're the swimming pool on an August day_

 _And you're the perfect thing to see_

 _And you play you're coy, but it's kinda cute_

 _Oh, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do_

 _Baby, don't pretend that you don't know it's true_

 _Cause you can see it when I look at you_

 _And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times_

 _It's you, it's you; you make me sing_

 _You're every line, you're every word, you're everything_

 _You're a carousel, you're a wishing well_

 _And you light me up when you ring my bell_

 _You're a mystery, you're from outer space_

 _You're my every minute of my everyday_

 _And I can't believe, uh, that I'm your man_

 _And I get to kiss you, baby, just because I can_

 _Whatever comes our way, oh, we'll see it through_

 _And you know that's what our love can do_

 _And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times_

 _It's you, it's you; you make me sing_

 _You're every line, you're every word, you're everything_

 _So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la_

 _So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la_

 _And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times_

 _It's you, it's you; you make me sing_

 _You're every line, you're every word, you're everything_

 _You're every song, and I sing along_

 _Cause you're my everything_

 _Yeah, yeah_

 _So, la, la, la, la, la, la, la_

 _So, la, la, la, la, la, la-la-la, la-la-la_

Hitting the last note of the guitar, I handed it back to Charles as the people in the crowd began clapping. "That was pretty good kid." Charles said.

"Think you could play a few songs with us sometime?" Huey asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty fun. Thanks again guys." I thanked them then walked towards Blake. "So what'd you think, I think I made myself look like quite the idiot for doing that right?"

"Yeah but you're my idiot." She smiled then kissed my cheek. She held my arm as I waved goodbye to Charles and Huey. We turned the corner then looked behind us. "You can come out now."

"H-Hi." Ruby said nervously, turning the corner as well along with Yang and Weiss.

"Care to explain why you were following us?" I asked.

"Well…" Yang started but was interrupted by Weiss.

"We wanted to check on you to see if everything was ok. We were gonna leave after both of you ate but Yang insisted on continuing." She explained. "And might I add, what a wonderfully romantic performance you gave." She added.

"As long as nothing bad happened then we can forgive you this time. And don't worry Ruby, we'll still be able to watch that show later." I said, hearing her let off a small yes. "Now you three go back to Beacon, we'll join you shortly ok?"

"Say no more." Weiss said, dragging Yang and Ruby.

"Now with that dealt with, I got an idea. How about instead of taking an airship back to Beacon I fly us there?"

"Are you serious?" Blake asked with suspicion.

"I'm serious, come on, it'll be fun." I nudged her shoulder. She thought it over then smiled. "Alright then, hop on." I told her as she jumped onto my back. "Hold tight." I said as I rocketed into the sky. I made sure to stop when one of her nails began digging into my neck.

"Please be safer." She scolded me.

"Ok I will." Flying at a much smoother speed, she loosened her grip slightly.

She looked down to the city and smiled. "Vale looks great from up here, you can really see the entire city."

"The perks of flying is the view that it offers." I said, flying over to Beacon. I landed and set her down gently. I walked her over to her dorm room and smiled. "Today was a good day."

"I agree, I really enjoyed spending time with you, maybe we can do it again sometime?"

"Definitely. See you tomorrow." I told her then turned to walk away. She grabbed my shoulder and turned me around to quickly kiss me on the lips then rushed into her room all the while I stood there unmoving. Took me a few seconds to register what happened and soon, I slowly fell and sat against the door, sighing in relief.


	25. 25

After dropping the disguises then changing to our regular outfits, we flew from Vacuo and now here we are in a small dust shop in Atlas a few days later. "Would you mind telling me why we are here again?" Cinder asked.

I took a look at some of the dust crystals then placed my hand on my chin. "Waiting for someone." I looked at the man at the counter. "Is it possible to make a ring out of dust crystals?"

"I don't know, it's never been done most likely because it'd be too dangerous. I'm guessing you have something or someone you'd go this far for?" He smiled and raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah, I do and that is why I asked if it was possible."

"Well once my son comes to talk to you, I'll go around back and gather some materials so we can begin. Luckily I have a room that will be able to sustain any accidental damage. Come back in a few hours so we can get started."

"Well, well, well, if it ain't Idris himself, can't believe I barely got that call from you. What took you so long?" A door from behind the counter opened revealing Flynt Coal with a smile as his father walked to the back.

"I've been busy training these past few months. Nice to know the Schnees were able to give you your dad's shop back."

"It's terrifying yet awesome knowing that you can get stronger." He joked. "Also couldn't believe it myself but hey, I ain't complaining. And who is this lovely lady with you?" He looked at Cinder and somehow took out a rose from his vest and gave it to her.

"His mother and someone who isn't interested in boys like you, but thank you for the gift." She happily accepted it.

"Feisty. So what'd you wanna talk about anyways?" He asked, leaning on the counter. "I can't imagine it'd be about my intense musical ability."

"It is actually, wanna make a small band?"

"You play something?"

"Little bit of guitar but that's beside the point. What I was really wondering is if you knew about anyone who can get me the info I need." I told him.

"I do, but that depends on what kind of info you want exactly." He crossed his arms.

"Looking for a lab belonging to the White Fang. I heard there was one here in Atlas so I had to check it out."

"A lab? Hmm I think I have the right person who can help you with that. You know my partner Neon right? Well someone from her family owns the finest club in the kingdom. Speaking from experience of Neon dragging me there a couple of times, many kinds of people go there, from the classiest of people trying to have real fun to big names in the underground. Although I don't think they'll allow just anyone in so I'll swing by and find the person and get that info for you if that's ok with you?"

"Yeah that's cool with me. Call me when you get something good." We bumped fists then Cinder and I left the store.

"How exactly did you meet him?" She asked me.

"It was after the second rounds of the tournament, I was resting in the locker room when Flynt ran up to me. He thought I was cool so he gave me his number so we can hang out sometime after the tournament was over."

"I see, well we have some free time on our hands, what do you want to do first?"

"Well I need to go back to the dust shop to work on something alongside Flynt's father, so we should go eat then you go rest at the hotel meanwhile I go meet up with him."

We stepped into a little burger place and started talking about things ranging from stuff that've happened while I was gone to what I've been up to. She was glad to hear of the different kinds of people I've met along the way and that I made sure to work as a way to pay Lucy back for the training I got. We even got to reminisce of things from back when I was a child.

The little hunting trips and fishing trips her and I had before Cinder had to leave. She even spoke of the adventures she had when she was younger and driving Eve crazy every now and then. It was all interesting to hear and it felt nice to be talking with Cinder like all our worries were suddenly gone.

After we ate and we parted ways for the night, I walked back to the dust shop and walked in. "You ready kid, I got everything ready?" Flynt's father asked.

"Yeah I'm good to go." I followed him to the blast room as he wore protective gear. He looked at me as a way of silently asking if I needed to safety gear but I shook my head. "My body can take anything that's thrown at it so don't worry, I'll be fine." He taught me the basics of dust and the basics of being a blacksmith which involve a lot of measuring and careful planning as to ensure not much time or materials are wasted.

After the lesson was over, he handed some tools over to me then stood behind the blast shield. I put on some goggles and raised the hammer. "Remember, not too much pressure." He told me and gave me a thumbs up.

I nodded then took a few breaths. 'Alright, first time's the charm.' I swung down on the crystal as it shattered and exploded, covering the room in smoke. I coughed out some smoke then placed the hammer down. 'Too much.'

As much as I wanted to be done early, I couldn't get it done so I ended up spending the next few days and nights working as much as possible to get it right. I was close a few times only to mess it up due to small mistakes. I swear, this felt as bad as coding. The smallest of mistakes could end up ruining everything.

Around a week since I started working, I thought of the perfect plan and put it to use. "Finally! I'm done!" I laughed as I sat against the wall, covered in sweat and burn marks around my hands. "I'm sorry for wasting a lot of dust crystals in the process of making this, I'll pay for them." I told Flynt's father.

"Don't worry about it kid, I hope the person you give that too really enjoys it." He smiled as he wrapped some bandages around my hands.

"I really hope so too." I held the ring up as it shifted colors every few seconds. I stored it in my pocket and got up. "You know you can make some good money and a lot of people happy if you advertise what we just made. It'd put any kind of jewelry to shame."

"I probably could but this was mostly your idea so it wouldn't be right if I did it without you."

"Well if you ever need help, then call. Bye." I stepped out of the shop and checked my scroll to see what time it was. It was around noon so I walked back to the hotel in the middle of Cinder reading an X-Ray and Vav comic then took a long shower and changed back into my gear.

"So you finally finished with whatever you were doing these past few days?" She asked, closing the comic and setting it aside.

"Yep" I showed the ring to her as she was amazed by the way it looked before I stuffed it back into my pocket. "Also I didn't know you read comics."

"Who else would get you interested in them? Eve was more into novels, it was all she reads during her spare time."

"That is true. Anyways get ready, we leave in ten minutes"

"Why?"

"We got to go see a certain friend that's why."

"You mean your friend Weiss Schnee?"

"Yeah." We left the hotel and now stood at the front of a giant manor with the Schnee symbol displayed on the gate. I saw a monitor next to the gate so I walked towards it as it turned on.

"Please state your business?" A voice asked as an elderly woman appeared on the monitor.

"I am a friend of Weiss Schnee and in need of discussing an urgent matter with her."

"I highly doubt that a faunus ruffian would be affiliated with Miss Schnee or any of the Schnee family. I suggest that you leave this area soon or I will call the police." The monitor shut itself off and I sighed.

"What do you wanna do now?" Cinder asked.

"Wait out here for me." I flew into the sky and floated over the manor, sensing exactly where Weiss was. Her energy signal led me to a big window being covered by a curtain. Tapping on the window, she moved the curtains and I waved. She looked surprised as she opened the window and I let myself in. Once I touched the floor she wrapped her arms around me for a hug.

"I missed you."

"Never pegged you as a hugger Weiss."

She had a little chuckle and let go of me. "Winter told me what happened in Vacuo so I should've expected to see you here. Ruby told me that you vanished off to go training then after five months I suddenly hear that you destroyed a White Fang research lab from Winter. You've got a lot of explaining to do mister."

"I know I do-" I stopped when I noticed a bruise on her cheek. "What happened to your cheek?"

"I...don't wanna talk about it...Your tail is back?!" She said, pointing at my swaying tail.

"Yeah it regrew while I was training. Not having it is fine but I enjoy having a tail."

"How is that possible?!"

"Saiyan biology. If our tail is cut off, there is a chance to regrow it."

The door to her room opened and in came a slightly overweight light brown eyed man with balding brown hair and a large mustache. When he saw me, his eyes changed to an orange color. "What the bloody hell are you doing with Weiss?"

"Don't worry Klein, he's a friend." She told him. "A good one at that."

His eyes reverted to the color they were before. "My apologies."

I nodded. "No need for one, you were only caring for her safety."

She turned her head to me. "So why exactly are you in Atlas? I'm sure you had some business here other than just visiting me."

"I do but it involves breaking into a laboratory affiliated with the White Fang. Wanna help?"

"Well I have been practicing some new techniques although father would be furious if he found out that I left my room."

"Don't worry Miss Schnee, I will make sure he doesn't find out." said Klein.

"You sure?"

"Of course, anything for you."

"Then it's decided, jump onto my back and let's go." I turned my body towards the window as she hopped on. "Hold on tight." I flew out the window and made my way away from the manor. Soon enough Cinder was able to catch up with me.

"You could've told me to follow you." said Cinder.

"Sorry, must've slipped my mind that you were waiting."

Weiss looked over to Cinder. "Who's she?"

"Weiss this...is my mother...Cinder."

She gasped. "I thought your mother was killed by the White fang?"

"Give me a moment to explain. You see, Cinder was the one who found me and raised me for a few years. Complications rose and she had to leave me with the woman who adopted her. I didn't remember her at all until after Eve died which led to me regaining those memories and finally remembering everything when I saw Cinder."

"Wow…"

"I know right." My scroll rang and I saw that it was Flynt who was calling me. "You got it?"

"I did, although you may not like what I have to say. Their location is in the northeast side of Atlas in Mt. Steel. It was all I could get."

"Thanks Flynt, knew you would come through. I'll make to sure to come back to your shop when I have time."

"If you have time is what you really mean. See ya." He hung up.

"You're friends with Flynt?" Weiss asked.

"I'll explain that too on the way."

Halfway there, an increasing energy signal that was above the average human or faunus level appeared. It felt different from the aura levels of this world, in fact, it felt more like aura mixed with...ki. "Cinder, we have to hurry!" I started flying much faster.

"Slow down!" Weiss yelled, struggling to hang on.

Reaching the source of the signal, I arrived at Mt. Steel. I gathered energy in my hand and let it out against the mountain side, blasting a hole then flew inside. I set Weiss down as Cinder joined us.

"Why would you fly that fast, I could've fallen?!" Weiss scolded.

"They're getting closer to finishing." I told Cinder.

"But how? All they have are blood samples, that shouldn't be even close to enough to generate a single being, let alone an army." She said.

"Guess Samson was right about them fusing dna." They followed as I started walking. Stopping at a ledge, I looked over to see the lab filled with a dozen guards plus two scientists and a massive container filled with a blue liquid.

"Finally, our goal is almost complete. To think that we've come this far, thank you for agreeing on merging your lab in Mystral with ours Maxis, it was the best thing we've done." A woman said.

"Certainly Emma, the advances we've made will certainly instill terror on our enemies. Fusing the dna of our faunus subject with the dna of that boy wasn't easy but we were successfully able to do it. Hopefully that will be all that we need to start generating an army of them. Are you sure we can keep this thing under control, what if it loses control?"

"I've got a plan for that Maxis, in fact, I've made many preparations for many different possibilities."

"You better be right cause the mountain shaking earlier means he must be here."

"I know. You can come out of hiding now!" She yelled. I moved out of hiding then jumped down and hit the floor with a thud. "Perfect. Now I know you must be wondering why we'd do this."

"I can give many reasons why, now get out of my way." I told them.

"Guards, do your thing!" On her command, every guard raised their rifles and began shooting at me.

I caught each and every bullet that they shot and once they ran out, I let go of the scraps, creating a small pile on the ground. "Regulars don't work, use dust bullets!" One of them yelled. They were gonna shoot again but were stopped by dark circles appearing under half of them which exploded into a blast of fire, taking them out. The other half were frozen solid. Weiss and Cinder jumped down, landing next to me and ready to fight.

"So you brought help, guess I have no choice but to release him." She walked to the container and pressed a few buttons. The container hissed as it opened, revealing a shirtless man wearing only pants and boots who also had a monkey tail like mine. It opened its eyes and walked out of the container before kneeling down in front of Emma. She pointed at me and smiled. "Luxor, destroy the boy and those two women." She ordered.

"Yes master." He stood up and looked at me straight in the eyes. We walked up to one another and I noticed he was a few inches taller than me, much like Ironwood's height. "You die first little man." He declared.

"A mixture of a saiyan and faunus. I wonder what advantages being both will entail. Sad really...knowing that I will have to kill you. Such a waste of potential."

"We'll see about that." He popped his neck then threw a punch. Catching his punch, I quickly punched him in the stomach twice then kicked him back.

I looked over to Cinder and Weiss. "Both of you take care of Maxis and Emma, I'll deal with this guy." I charged at Luxor and slammed my fist onto his face and blasted him into the wall. He got himself out of the wall and growled at me. He jumped into the air and shot a few energy balls at me which I deflected away from everyone else then jumped back in order to avoid his fist which smashed the floor. "That all you got?" I smiled.

He turned angry from my smile and clenched his fists. "You will eat your words!" He jumped at me with a kick so I moved past him and grabbed his leg with my tail then slammed him onto the floor. While he was down I kicked him, sending him a few feet away. He sprung up and held his hand out as a large ball grew from his hand and was sent towards me so I retaliated by grabbing it with my hand and crushing it with ease.

'I may not have gone past Super Saiyan Two but my training certainly helped me improve so much. Don't even need to transform.' I yawned and rubbed my eye. 'This should rile him up a bit more. I know I shouldn't be doing this but my instincts are pressuring me into letting him put out more power.'

Sure enough I felt his energy increase as did his anger. "Power...I need more power!" He ranted. For some reason, his veins were glowing as his muscles grew bigger, surprising me. It reminded me of Bane and Broly. One cause of glowing veins, the other cause of the rants for more power. With one step he rocketed from his spot and tackled me into the wall. I was pushed further into the wall by his constant punches. "What's wrong, you seemed so confident earlier?" He smiled as he stopped his assault.

Rubbing my arm across my mouth, I noticed a bit of blood smudged on there. I removed myself from the wall and quickly went Super Saiyan. "You surprised me that's all. I hope you're fighting seriously cause you'll be in a world of pain from now on." Disappearing from my position, I appeared behind him and grabbed his arms before ramming my knee into his back. I let go of one arm and used the other to keep a hold of him while I kicked his stomach and lower back a couple times then threw him back.

His veins glowed and his muscles grew bigger as he got up. He yelled with gusts of wind that grew and a yellow aura surrounded him. His pupils disappeared and his hair spiked itself with a red hue just like a false Super Saiyan. "Now you will die!" His voice became slightly deeper. We rushed one another and clashed fists, creating shockwaves. We clashed a couple more times then were in a power struggle. I didn't move as much unlike him. I used a bit more power and punched him back a few feet. I stood still as he charged at me again. Moving under his punch, I reeled my fist back and rammed it into his stomach, sending him into the container and shattering it completely.

I descended slowly from the air and turned to Cinder and Weiss. Both seemed to be doing great on their own so I turned back to Luxor. 'Time to end this.' Walking to him, I held him by his neck. "You put up a good fight Luxor, but this is the end." I threw him into the air then began to spread my arms out. "Final…" Now locking them together, I moved them beside me. "Ka...me...ha...me…" Charging enough energy, I thrusted my hands forward. "Ha!" A massive beam shot out and consumed him then went on to make its way through the mountain, leaving a giant hole before disappearing into the sky. I changed back then looked over to Cinder and Weiss again to see them working together. Cinder used fire to distract Emma and Maxis as Weiss used a glyph to summon a giant knight made of ice behind them. While they were distracted by the fire, the knight grabbed both of them then slammed them into the wall then the floor, knocking both of them out.

The knight kneeled in front of Weiss then faded away as a mist. "And that takes care of that." She put her hands on her hips and smiled.

"That was pretty cool Weiss, when'd you learn how to do that?" I asked her.

"Family secret."

"What should we do with them?" Cinder pointed to Emma and Maxis.

"You girls head on back to Atlas, I'll take care of these two." I said, seeing them leave. I turned around and wrapped some cables around each of the two scientists. I was about to pick them up when Emma started waking up. "Nice to know you're awake."

"Bite me." She scoffed. "What do you plan on doing with us?"

"Turn you over to the Atlas military." I took out my scroll to call Winter.

"The White Fang will get us out and we'll go back to experimenting, after all, you and everyone else are just bodies in our way of achieving our goals."

"Yeah yeah." I said as I dialed Winter's number.

"And once we get out, not only are we gonna continue, we may even experiment on that one cat faunus. You know, the one that used to work with Taurus."

I lowered my scroll and looked at Emma. "What?"

"You heard me, what was her name? Belladonna right?"

"Please don't play this game with me."

"You have no idea what you have done do you? You can do your worst to me but this little expedition of yours will certainly paint a huge target on you once the higher ups find out you're cause of this. Everyone you love will get hurt or maybe even killed. You sealed their fate." She smiled, fully knowing what she was doing. "The hero who got everyone he loves killed. Quite a befitting title for you actually. In time you'll earn that title and I can't wait to see your face when you do."

"I don't care who is targeting me but if you can, let them know that I look forward to fighting them. And warn them that if any one of them get near my friends, then I will make them suffer."

After Winter arrived then left with them in her custody, I flew back to the Schnee household where I met up with Cinder and Weiss who were in the middle of a conversation.

"-certainly agree on that." Cinder smiled then looked my way. "I assume you handled them?"

"Yeah, Winter came and took care of the problem." I nodded.

"What're you two gonna do now? I mean those labs were the only reason you both went through the kingdoms." Weiss wondered.

Cinder walked up to me. "I have to ensure that there are no more threats. If something comes up then I will call you or even when I just want to talk but for now, this is goodbye." She kissed my forehead and hugged me before leaving. "Our time together was good and I hope we can do it again someday.""

"And you?" Weiss asked me.

"I have to go find someone don't I?" I laughed. "I'll see you later Weiss and please call if you ever wanna talk. It wouldn't be fun if you never talked to any of us. After all, we are family." I gave her a small hug then stepped out of the house. Focusing, I found that person's energy so I shot into the air and flew. The skies darkened after a few minutes. I was closing in on the person's location so I descended slowly and touched the ground with a soft thud. I walked the rest of the way and found the person I was looking for.

I took a small breath and smiled as the person noticed me and the person smiled as well. "It's been a long time, but I'm here now…Blake."

"You say it as if it's been years since we've seen one another."

"With what I've been putting myself through, you'd be surprised." I laughed and held her in my arms. "I'd go through hell and back just to see that beautiful smile of yours."

"I swear, you get cornier everytime we meet." She said with an even wider smile.

I felt a tear roll down my eye and she wiped it away when she noticed it. "I told myself I wouldn't cry." I joked, getting a laugh out of her. "I love you Blake." I kissed her softly then placed my forehead on hers. "And I will never stop loving you."


	26. 26

After being reunited with Blake, we just stood together on a pier, enjoying the feeling of being together after so long meanwhile waiting for something.

"I'm so glad to be back together again." She smiled back.

"I feel the same way. I was gone for so long and during that time, I hoped that you were ok. The reason why I sounded like it has been years is because it is true. From my perspective, it's been three years and four months since I talked to the others or you." I said surprising her. "Crazy right?"

"Kinda is, maybe you should explain more?" She asked with a hint of interest.

"Alright so I was brought to the home of the woman who brought me to Remnant in the first place. There I trained for nearly a month then one day when I was fishing, I was introduced to two people. Beerus the God of Destruction and Whis, an angel, and his teacher. Apparently she had planned for me to travel to their universe and use a chamber where a day in the real world was basically a year in the chamber. I spent two days, the equivalent to two years in there, training with nobody else but her."

"What was it like?"

"The training was brutal and I nearly died on some occasions. But she was able to heal me and remember, with my dna, what doesn't kill me literally makes me stronger." I chuckled. "The spare time I had was spent on thinking what everyone was doing while I was gone and there were times when you were always on my mind." I sighed and gave a slightly sad smile. "It felt kinda lonely you know, not having anyone else to talk to. Not that Lucy was bad to talk with or anything but just not being with you all didn't feel the same. Despite those thoughts in my head, my main focus was to reach the third stage of Super Saiyan."

"Third, so you can transform more than once?" She asked.

"Yes I can but sadly I couldn't reach the third stage when my time was up so I was pretty bummed out. Although my tail grew back and I finally grew a beard which was awesome. No more baby face for me and I'm now nineteen so you and the others owe me birthday presents for three missed birthdays."

"It does make you look more mature yet somehow a bit young. Looks cute on you and I am not getting you two birthday presents." She kissed my cheek. "Please continue."

"So I ended up meeting two more saiyans after exiting the chamber, who cheered me up. Their names were Goku and Vegeta. Both much older and definitely much stronger than me. Believe it or not back on Earth, they were fictional characters along with their universe. For nearly thirty years their story was made into an animated show for all to watch as well as games and movies based off of it. Still surprises me sometimes that Goku and Vegeta started out as enemies then became like brothers after so many battles. You can imagine how I felt upon meeting them, I was ecstatic and surprised that I didn't pass out since it would be one of the best things to happen to someone who was a fan of theirs."

She laughed. "I'd like to think that I would feel the same way if I met the authors of my favorite books."

"And if everyone thought I was strong, compared to them, it would take me decades to get anywhere near their level. In my best day, they would knock me down with only a finger if they wanted to. After meeting them and being sent back to Lucy's home, I stayed a bit longer to repay her for training me by doing a lot of chores. Then I came back home and the rest...well it must've been on the news these past few weeks."

"Wait so it was you who was involved with the arrest of White Fang soldiers and scientists?"

"Turns out they were making soldiers from my dna so I had to stop them. Well there's the end of my story, what do you think?"

"You are always drawn to adventure aren't you?" She asked with a small smile.

"Now that I think about it, I am always going from one adventure to the next although the one adventure that I hope never ends is the one that I want to have with you." I kissed her and sighed in satisfaction.

"Always the romantic aren't you? I wonder where you get it from?"

"Haven't you asked me that before cause I'm pretty sure you did. I know it might not be my place to ask but when you left all those months ago, you never gave me a reason why. What made you want to leave?"

Her expression changed from a happy one to a sad one. "Oh about that, after you, Weiss, and I separated, I saw Adam. After he hurt me, Yang came bursting towards him and well...you saw the results after you and Ruby joined up with us and everyone else. While you were back home burying Lyra, I thought the best thing would be for me to leave. I didn't want to bring any harm to anyone else anymore. Then the day I decided to go, I told you cause I didn't want to leave you without a goodbye. From then on I've been going on my own, helping anyone whenever I can and just like you, I couldn't help but think of you from time to time either."

"There's no way anybody would treat you any different after what happened, even Yang."

"You think so?"

"I know so. We've all been there for each other since day one, it'd be a shame if we let that one thing get in between us all."

"Thanks. You know what, I've been thinking about this for some time now but you've always been there to help whenever you had the chance. The thing is, isn't it about time someone was there to help you when you needed it?"

"You already helped me when you first told me that you loved me."

"There you go again, being romantic." She giggled.

"You know you love it. So what do you wanna do now that we got everything off our chests?"

"Well how about a song? I did miss your singing."

"I've only ever sung to you once." I pointed out.

"I know but I've heard you sing when you were alone in the ballroom and that one time you sang about the dino rangers. You must've really like those type of power rangers. I'm more of a mystic force kind of gal."

I turned really red from embarrassment. "Oh I can't believe you heard that. I made sure nobody was around for that one. Well as much as I want to, I literally just got back from a fight so I don't think I'm in any shape to do so."

"Is that why your hands are wrapped in bandages?" She grabbed my hand.

"Actually that was before the fight. I spent time in a dust shop belonging to a friend's father and created something. Burned my hands in the process and it was a long process, trust me."

"A gift? Sometimes I think that you like spoiling me." She smiled.

"In that case, guess I won't gi-" I suddenly started coughing and spat out some blood onto my arm. 'Guess that guy did more damage than I thought.'

"Are you ok?"

I nodded and sat down. "Yeah I'm fine. Some rest should do the trick. Wake me up when something happens ok?"

"Sure. And from now on, please try to rest more, I don't like seeing you fight all the time."

"I will try, just for you." I closed my eyes and smiled.

 _ **?**_

I stood in the middle of a destroyed city. Fires were everywhere and a puddle of water nearby which I used to see my reflection. My clothes were torn and blood was stained on them and me. I looked at my hands to see the same. 'What happened?' I started walking around and the air was dead silent. Some crumbling was heard from behind me so I turned to see someone getting out from under some rubble.

It was Ruby that broke through the rubble. I ran towards her but upon her seeing me, she held Crescent Rose tightly as if she's ready to fight me. "Stop! Not one step further."

"Ruby, what's going on?"

"You know what's going on. You should know cause it was your fault. Why'd you try to protect that woman?" She said as I noticed blood on her stomach where her hand was and the blood pouring from her leg. "Weiss, Yang, Blake, everyone…they died cause you wanted to protect her. You chose Cinder over all of us! I thought we were your family! I'll never forgive you!" With tear filled eyes, she launched herself at me. I dodged her scythe and rolled away from the bullet she shot at me. She shot a couple more and I grabbed each one then let them fall.

She didn't have anymore so she dropped the scythe onto the ground. "Please stop Ruby!"

"How can I when you betrayed all of us!" She limped her way over to me. Once she got close to me, she used whatever strength she had left and punched me in the stomach softly. "You called us all your family and yet you threw us away so easily...you're a monster." Her knees wobbled as she collapsed onto the floor.

I held her as tears escaped her eyes and fell onto the floor "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry." I whispered to her. Her hand fell limp and I laid her onto the ground. "Why did this happen?"

"Because..." I turned to see a white complexed woman with black veins and grimm like eyes walking towards me with a smile on her face and her eyes. "Remember what I told you when we first met, they only ever stuck with you cause of your strength. She tried to pin the blame on you when in reality, it was they who betrayed you."

"No, that isn't true. It just isn't."

"That is the world that we live in. People like us don't belong anywhere. They care for us just so we don't unleash our true potential and when you least expect, they will try to end us. They want to be seen as the dominant ones when we, compared to them, are truly stronger. Come with me, and we can prove that we belong and we may cleanse this world." She held out her hand.

Having nothing to go to anymore, I grabbed her hand and stood up before placing my fist on my chest. "I am your weapon and shield, may they crumble under your strength."

 _ **Back with Blake**_

I opened my eyes and saw some ships in the distance. I held my hands in front of me and saw them shaking tremendously. 'Why was I shown that? Why did it feel so real? There's no way that could possibly happen right?' I clenched my fists and sighed. 'That dream is probably just me being paranoid. I know they would never betray me, not after what we've all been through. But still if they find out about my connection to Cinder, there is a high chance of a fight. And if they fight, I might be forced to choose a side.'

"They're here." Blake stated.

I planted my feet on the wood and looked at her. 'I shouldn't be worried. Now that I'm back, I will do what I can to protect everyone and fulfill the role I was given and if there is a chance...when the fighting is over...' I reached into my pocket and held the ring tightly. 'I will make an even bigger decision.'


	27. 27

Standing at the front of the ship, I exhaled and closed my eyes. With a grunt, I went Super Saiyan. 'A little more.' I repeated the process and went to the next level. Slowly reaching the peak, I held my hand out in front of me and compressed a good amount of energy into a tennis ball-sized ki ball. Compressing it even more, it shrunk into a marble. I threw it far from the ship before closing my hand, letting it expand massively then explode, creating waves in the water that soon calmed. My scroll started beeping so I changed back to base before checking to see that it was a message from Cinder.

'I don't have much time, but warn your friend Ruby that Tyrian has been sent after her.' I read it in my head. Soon after a picture of him was sent. Honestly, he gave off that madman vibe.

Dialing Ruby's number, I was answered by Nora instead. "Hi!" She practically shrieked with enthusiasm. "I can't believe that you're finally calling us! Why'd it take you so long to do so mister?! Wait...does this mean you're finally back from your training?! If so, get your butt over here right now!"

I smiled knowing Nora was still the same bundle of joy. "Hey Nora, can I speak with Ruby?"

"Fine...I'll put it on speaker so everyone can hear you. Come on guys, say hi!" She told Ren, Jaune, and Ruby.

"Hey!" They all said with the exception of Ren saying it with a bit less pep than Jaune and Ruby.

"To answer Nora's question, yeah I've been back for a couple weeks but I was sidetracked. You all should've seen it on the news-"

She gasped. "So that was you going through labs and kicking White Fang butts? How dare you have such a fun time without us mister! So where are you now?"

"I'm with Blake but that's beside the point, I have some bad news for you guys. Someone by the name Tyrian has been sent to retrieve Ruby. For what, I don't know. He is a scorpion faunus so if you see anything of that type, be wary. Please be careful the four of you. Bye."

"Wait!" Nora yelled. "Before you go, I have an important question. What is a better team name, Junior or Ranger?"

"Hmm let's see, well I was always more comfortable with Junior cause that's what I've sometimes been called before I came to Remnant, but Ranger sounds much better."

"Aww." She moaned.

"Told you it was a better name." Ren added.

"Tell Blake hi for me." Ruby requested.

"I will." I hung up, sent the photo and put my scroll in my pocket. 'Cinder, I'm hoping that whatever you're doing or where you're getting this info from won't end up backfiring terribly on you. Stay safe everyone.'

"Morning." I heard the captain of the ship say from behind me. "Interesting group of friends you have."

"I guess you overheard, yeah, Nora is the most spontaneous of us. Say, have you ever heard of a man named Tyrian?"

"Hmm I know I heard his name a couple of times in my travels but he doesn't seem to ring any bells." He said, tugging on his beard. "So what, pray tell, are you doing awake this early in the morning?"

"Just practicing."

"Practicing? From what I saw, you just let out an attack strong enough to destroy a large part of one of the kingdoms without much of an effort. I know I have seen many things but a kid who can change his hair color in record time, have electricity surrounding him, and equipped with that kind of power is definitely a first."

"Well I'm not your regular everyday monkey faunus and that wasn't powered by aura. What you saw was only a small bit of what I can really do. Did that wake anyone else up?"

"No, and don't worry, I won't tell a soul but you have to tell me your story someday. Now if you don't mind me asking, what is the connection between you and that girl? You two been around each other so much that I'd like to know how it started."

"Blake and I have been together for months although it was only a few days ago that we were reunited. You see, some time after Beacon fell she told me goodbye then ran off. And the next three or four months that we were separated, I spent training." I leaned on the railing and looked at the sun that was rising. "Now here we are in a ship heading to Menagerie."

He stood next to me and sighed. "You know, my daughter went to see that tournament but she was in the fairgrounds when the grimm came in. She told me that she was staring at death's door when one of those monsters were closing in on her but she was saved by a huntsman that tore it in half with a single punch. I'm thankful that someone was there to protect her when I wasn't there."

"Thing is, it wasn't only grimm that attacked, the White Fang showed up too. We may have defeated them but in reality, we lost much more than we won. The lives of innocents, students, and friends were lost. Even...family..I know that not everyone can be saved but I wish that more would've survived."

"Think of it like this, that day, many people were saved. Without the help from the huntsmen and huntresses like that girl and you, it could've been a lot worse. You all did the best you could but next time, you'll know what to do."

"You're right. I'm wondering if you have any work for me, it could be the least I can do to pay you back for the trip."

"Well I was planning to put this off until much later but I guess I shouldn't since we may need them for an emergency. Although it should take almost a day to get there at most if we go off course."

"Whatever the job is, I can do it. It'll be no trouble and you won't have to be sidetracked."

"Hmm ok then." He reached into his pocket and took out a list, handing it to me. On it, it had a person's name and address along with the things needed. "This should be all the supplies we need, give this to the person listed here and they'll know what to do. Lend me your scroll for a bit."

I handed it to him and he marked the location of the town on it before handing it back. "I'll be on my way immediately." I flared my ki and shot into the sky, starting my side quest. Took me two or three hours to get there but once I did, I landed in a tree and jumped onto the ground. 'Schion.' I looked at the town and started walking. The person on the list was a woman named Vambre. I should've asked for a picture of her. Luckily enough, it only took me a couple minutes to find the place by asking around.

"Welcome to the Weapons Vault. My name is Vambre and I run this shop." She said. "Although you look more like the hands-on type, trying to find weapons to learn are you?"

Looking at her, she was a cute redhead with blue eyes. "No weapons for me, actually I was sent here cause you had some supplies that needed to be sent." I handed her the list as she took a few seconds to read it.

"Is his supply line running low already?" She asked.

"He said he didn't want to put it off until later just in case something happened."

"I see, well I'll get in touch with him and deliver the supplies myself to the usual location."

"I can take them myself, it'd be no trouble for me whatsoever." I suggested.

"You sure, some of the stuff listed here is pretty heavy?"

I nodded my head. "I'm pretty strong so I know I can handle it."

"Alright, just give me some time to get everything together then you can go."

As soon as she left, multiple explosions sounded off. I jumped onto one of the rooftops and saw a big group of men gathering people in a circle. "Hahahaha! That's right, round them up boys!" A man yelled. "You should've paid up when you had the chance. Now which one of you is gonna go first." He took a moment to decide and grabbed a child in a choke hold. A woman reached for the child but was punched to the ground by another bandit.

I grew frustrated and scoffed. "Hey punks!" I shouted before jumping to the ground. "I don't take kindly to seeing innocent people threatened or hurt, especially children."

"Well would you look at this, we got ourselves a hero. Think you can do a better job than this one?" Out of the crowd, a huntsman was pulled out and thrown on the ground, bleeding from his midsection.

Instead of fighting, I had a better idea. "I'll make a deal with you. Let these people go free and I will be your prisoner. To the right people, I might be worth a lot of money, enough to make you all rich."

"Oh really, and under what qualifications does it make you that valuable to us?"

"You all know who Roman Torchwick is right? Well he was said to have been killed months ago. And lucky for you, standing in front of you all is the one who took his life. Turn me in, you get rich. Do we have a deal?" I smiled.

He immediately let go of the kid and told his men to surround me. "Alright you got a deal."

"Good. All of you find a safe place now and help that huntsman!" I ordered the crowd as they took the huntsman with them. Soon the area was clear of innocents so I popped my neck and knuckles.

"You sure are an idiot for sacrificing yourself for these scum."

"And you were an idiot for believing that I'd go without repaying you for the harm that was caused." I opened my hand and rapidly shot ki blasts at every bandit, disintegrating them all except for the main one.

He was shaking in his boots like a chihuahua. "H-How is that p-p-possible?"

"I am a force far stronger than you can comprehend, now leave and never come back." The man dropped his sword and ran as fast as he could. I sighed and saw the people coming out of hiding, walking towards me. I held out my hand to them and shook my head. Howls were heard in the distance and sure enough, I could see packs of beowolves in the distance. "Grimm are coming! Hide and don't make any sounds!"

They all ran back to where they were but the injured huntsman stayed. "I'm not running. I will fight to my last breath. Not gonna let a kid fight this alone."

"I can't afford to let you do that. You're injured and if you fight, you could die. I want you to go comfort those people and tell them everything will be alright, I will handle this." I smiled in reassurance. He nodded then went as fast as he could. The creatures were getting closer so I just blasted a ki wave killing them all. Something massive landed behind me so I turned to see a big grimm-like ape. It punched me in the face, sending me sliding back a few inches. Banging on its chest and roaring, it snorted and slammed its fists on the ground. 'No need for me to drag this out any longer.' I dashed towards him and slid under before punching him into the sky and pointing two fingers at him, making a fireworks display out of him. 'Guess this makes up a story for me to tell Peter whenever I see him. I'm sure he has some knowledge about that grimm.'

"Wow, that was some pretty quick and clean work there kid." Vambre said, walking up to me with a giant crate on a cart. "Here is everything."

"Thanks." I grabbed the crate and lifted it above my head. I flared my ki once more and began my way back. I was closing in on the ship and heard cannon fire. The closer I got, I noticed something flying above and around it. It roared so I quickened my pace. I set the crate down and ran to the front and saw Blake jumping off of Sun's clones and him to then tear one of its wings off.

"Thank goodness you're here boy, help those two get that grimm in position of our heavy cannon!" The captain ordered.

"Hold your fire, there won't be any need for the cannon!" I held my hand out and compressed a good amount of energy into a marble sized energy ball. Once Blake was away from it, I jumped towards it and rammed it into its chest. I threw myself back, smiled, and closed my hand as it expanded throughout its body, destroying it completely. "Ha ha!" I landed back on the ship and saw Sun carrying Blake near the rocks. "Hey, are you both ok?"

"Yeah we're fine. Nice shot dude!" Sun held a thumb up to me.

Blake jumped off of his arms. "And where were you all day?"

I pointed to the crate being opened by the captain's crew. "I offered my services and was sent to get some supplies. Oh and Ruby wanted me to tell you hi. Now that we are safe, I'm gonna go get something to eat, I'm starving."


	28. 28

From what Blake told me, Sun followed us in hopes of helping us go on a rampage against the White Fang. Sadly for him we weren't here for that. I could've flown him back to his home if he asked but he really wanted to tag along so we let him. It was the next day and unlike everyone who went to sleep, I couldn't. It was one of those restless nights where I walked towards the front of the boat and sat on the railing, listening to the waves crash softly together.

My tail unraveled itself from my waist and moved freely as I stared at the shattered moon. Despite it not being fully whole, I could still feel my heart rate increasing every few moments. I do sometimes wonder what it'd be like to become the Great Ape. Although if I did, there'd be no stopping me since I would have absolutely no control due to lack of practice with it. Speaking of forms I have yet to try out, I wondered how much I have left till I can go god. Although, no matter how much I would love to have it, I was sure that my body isn't capable of handling it. That and there are no saiyans to share energy with besides myself. Super Saiyan Four seems more attainable than god honestly, just need to harness the power of the ape. And yet, if I lose complete control of the ape form, then I'd end up doing the opposite of what I want.

To get my mind away from the possibility, I took out my scroll and played some music through my earbuds then began humming to the beat. I was suddenly interrupted by a phone call that was from Brandon. I stopped the music and answered. "Word gets around fast doesn't it?" I chuckled.

"Yeah it does. Ruby had to tell me that you were back and it wasn't hard to put together who was behind the White Fang ass kicking. You should've called when you came back. How have you been?"

"Sorry for not calling. The good news is that I'm back together with Blake and we are on our way to Menagerie plus Sun joined us by stowing away on the ship. Had to save a village then make it back in time to the ship to finish off a sea dragon so my time has been spent well. And that only covers these past two days, the rest, well I'd have to tell you face to face." I smiled then became a bit serious. "How have you and Yang been...is she feeling better?"

"Yeah she has been feeling a lot better. Although she keeps having nightmares which wake her up late at night. Had to calm her down on a few occasions. On the plus side, Ironwood sent her a new arm made of Atlesian military tech but she is a bit hesitant to try it. Says that it doesn't feel normal to her, that it'd be like forgetting everything that happened to her. Oh also two men named Port and Oobleck showed up, they're in the kitchen talking with Yang's father about their time at Beacon years ago."

"Really, well tell those two hi for me and tell Port that I will have some stories ready for him next time I see him." I laughed a bit and sighed. "You know, a lot is much more different than what we were used to do on Earth isn't it? I never got to ask or I may have already done so but how do you truly feel about all this...I mean I chose to be here but you, you were forcefully ripped out, you must miss being back home."

"Eh sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. The one thing I don't miss is working myself to the bone just to get high grades. I don't need to impress anyone and there are no high expectations for me so I can do things at my own pace. From regular dudes to badass fighters, things have gone well for the both of us. And most importantly, if I didn't show up on Remnant, I would've never have met Yang. I'm telling you this now, one day, after all this is over, I'm gonna marry this chick."

"You better make me the best man or I ain't going." I joked. "Also what do you mean regular, our group was made up of a bunch of loud mouthed geeks. We were anything but...nevermind, compared to them, I was a bit more regular than all of you guys."

He laughed. "Lies! All you did was be the quiet one instead of being weird like us. Sometimes we wondered what went on in that head of yours."

"Many other people wondered the same thing." I said as clouds started forming. "Seems like it's gonna rain tonight, I'll call you back once I get to Menagerie. Until next time."

"Until next time." He said.

I placed the scroll in my pocket and continued playing music as rain started falling. I held out my hand, feeling the drops hit my hand. I didn't know what it was but the rain always felt soothing to me.

I was interrupted once more by my scroll again. This time, it was a message from Qrow. "Nice job saving the town of Schion the other day kid and sticking it to those bastards. Heard that one of her men came running like a coward to tell the leader how you killed them all so easily. Now she wants to take a stab at you...literally. And don't worry about Little Red and her friends, I'll make sure they're safe." I read the message out loud then shrugged my shoulders and continued what I was doing.

After a while, the rain stopped, the clouds went away, and the sun started rising. I dried myself off by surrounding myself with ki for a moment then sensed two energies behind me. I turned to see a mother, with a baby in hand, looking at me. "Oh hello, may I help you?" I asked, taking off an earbud.

"Well I...uh kinda wanted to say thanks for saving us from that monster yesterday. I honestly thought that we were goners."

I shook my head to her thanks. "I'm not the one who saved you all, it was Blake and Sun who deserve the credit, not me. I only showed up at the right time."

"Still, it's an appreciative effort. Now what is a young man such as yourself doing up this early in the morning?"

"I would ask the same for you but you have a baby in your arms so I know why you are up." I looked at her baby and noticed that it was a boy. "What's his name?"

"His name is Ben. Wanna hold him?"

"Are you sure you want to let a stranger carry your son? You don't have to do it." I told her. Despite my refusal, she placed her boy in my arms. I tried to be careful since I haven't really held a baby before. I felt his breathing while he slept which felt so smooth and carefree. Whenever he'd stir, I'd gently rock him back to sleep. "This feels nice." I smiled. "Honestly, I can't say that I never thought of having a child of my own before. Where is his father?"

"He...perished sometime after Ben was born." She looked down.

"My apologies. I can tell that this boy will be a strong one when he's older. How strong exactly, well that's up to him to find out as he grows."

"You know just by holding him for a short while?"

"Well yes and no." I said, handing him back. "Everyone is capable of being strong although there are those that are genetically born that way, giving them a huge advantage. Meaning that it is up to the regulars to catch up to them to prove that genetics are incapable of gauging the potential of a human or a faunus. When I first started out as a huntsman in training, I was so far behind everyone else. Proper education, fighting prowess, strength, I lacked all of it but with enough effort, I met and surpassed every student, even the students older than me. Now I am the strongest in my class but that doesn't mean I should stop training because there will always be someone stronger than me. Although the goal shouldn't be being better than everyone, but being better than you were the day before."

"Your family must be proud of you."

My hands twitched a bit when she said that. "Th-Thank you. Oh and I forgot to introduce myself to you, my name is Idris Fall."

"My name is Marisa. It was a pleasure meeting you even if it was for a short while." She said with a smile.

"The pleasure was all mine." I looked back at the sea and off in the distance, I saw the island of Menagerie. "Looks like we have finally arrived."

"Thank goodness, I thought the trip would never end."

"If you don't mind me asking, why were the both of you headed to Menagerie?" I asked her.

"We were planning to meet with some relatives. What are your intentions of going?"

"Traveling with my girlfriend to meet with her family. Can't say that I'm not nervous though since it's the first time. All I'm hoping is that they approve of me."

"I'm sure that you'll make a good first impression."

"Good morning!" The captain waved from the second floor. I waved back to him as more people began walking to the front deck, all being glad that the trip was over. I spotted Blake and Sun so I told Marisa goodbye then walked towards them.

"Morning, how'd you both sleep?"

"Like a rock." Sun answered as he stretched his arms.

"I slept fine." Blake smiled as I suddenly let out a huge yawn. "You haven't slept one bit have you?"

"Guilty as charged." I held my hands up. "I couldn't sleep so I've been out here all night but I should be fine for the rest of the day, trust me." My stomach rumbled a bit. "Seems that I'm feeling a bit peckish right now. Wanna walk around the market a bit before we go? It'll be fuuun." I suggested, nudging her shoulder.

"Sure, why not." She smiled once more.

"Hey Sun, got any money on you?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Sorry, Neptune ended up taking all of it. My pockets are dry."

"What'd he spend it on?" Blake asked him.

"Swimming lessons. He finally decided to try and kick that phobia to the curb."

I reached into my pocket and pulled out some money. "I think I have enough for all three of us. Time to explore." We started walking around and looked at every vendor around the area selling all kinds of things from food to clothing to even tourist items. My nose picked up on a smell that hasn't filled it for years and out of the corner of my eye I spotted a taco stand and felt my eyes turn to stars. I zipped past the crowd and stood in front of the stand.

"Hello there young man, I noticed that you are interested in my food, care to try one?" The man asked, holding one out towards me.

I moved my hand, grabbing it then shoving it in my mouth with enough speed to make it seem like it just vanished from his hand and into my mouth. It tasted so good that my mouth watered a bit from the taste. I swallowed it completely and smiled. "So good."

"Why thank you." He smiled nervously. "If you'd like some more, it's only two lien for each."

"I'll take five more please." I handed him ten lien in exchange as he wrapped up my order and handed it to me. I delightedly took the food and walked my way back to where Sun and Blake were. "Here is some food for you two, enjoy." I handed each of them a taco before scarfing down the remaining three and letting out a small burp. "Aw yes, this should fill me up for a while. We ready to go?"

Blake nodded and Sun smiled as we left the market area and began walking through the town. Sun on occasion complained on how overcrowded it was but it was quite manageable to walk. Not as cramped as the school hallways were sometimes but slightly below that feeling. Blake then went on to explain to him why it was overcrowded to which he had mixed reactions about but tried to see the bright side of things.

We had stopped at the top of a hill and observed the area. "So which one is your house?" Sun asked. He had pointed to multiple but it was when Blake directed his hand to the massive home in the center, that he squealed in shock.

"I'm guessing that your parents must be similar to royalty right?" I asked with a bit of surprise myself.

"In a way yes." She smiled nervously. Now on our way to her home, we stopped at the front door. She reached for one of the latches on the door but hesitated.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's just...it's been so long since I've talked to my parents, it feels nerve-wracking."

"Don't feel that way. They're your folks, they will no doubt welcome you with open arms. Isn't that right?" He looked at me.

"Sun's right. You shouldn't have any doubt right now." I nodded.

"Thanks." She told the both of us before grabbing the latch and slamming it onto the door as it resonated a big booming sound.

"Not gonna lie, that was kinda intimidating." Sun pointed out.

Soon after, the door was opened by a woman who looked like an older version of Blake. "Blake?" She said with longing eyes.

Blake raised her hand as the woman got closer to her. "Hi mom."

The woman, now known to us as her mom, hugged her lovingly. "My baby girl."

After her came a large man with a full beard, big chest hair, in a brown pants, big purple coat with white fur along the lining plus armor on his left shoulder and around his waist as well, in the doorway. Locking eyes with him, my mind shot me back to a memory. "I've met you before..."

"You know my dad?" asked Blake.

"I wouldn't exactly say I know him. It was years ago when he shot my mother in the arm."

"Wait, he did what?" She looked at her dad as a moment of realization hit him.

"Don't tell me…you're that kid!" He said.

"So this young man was the four year old who beat you?" asked Blake's mom.

He laughed. "This certainly is something. Never really expected to run into you at all after that day. I really should apologize for my actions. Come in." Sun and I, after being welcomed, walked in and followed Blake and her parents into a room where we all sat around a table and began drinking tea.

"We were horrified when we heard the news." Her mother said. "The kingdom of Vale wasn't perfect but it certainly didn't deserve what happened." She sighed. "We were both so worried."

Her father laughed. "Please, I knew she'd be fine."

She scoffed. "That isn't the slightest bit true. You should've seen him pacing."

"You guys have nothing to worry about. I've seen your daughter in action and trust me, she's got some moves." Sun added.

I noticed her father get a slightly bitter expression from his response. "And what exactly do you mean by that Mr. Wukong?" That question was enough to intimidate Sun completely.

"I-uh well you see sir...it's just that...you know she's such a good fighter and all. Uh an-and as a fellow fighter I have a lot of respect for her." He kept stammering on to the point everyone became silent. He used his tail to grab the pot and pour some more tea for himself. "This is some good tea." He drank it and smiled nervously then used his tail to nudge mine as a way of saying help.

"Mr. Belladonna, Sun didn't mean anything bad. I've known Blake since our second day at Beacon and from that point on, she has grown into a very capable woman, one of the best in our class." I smiled, hoping he'd calm before sensing two neutral energies harboring evil intent outside of the home.

"Very well then." His expression turned to a calm one as Sun and I both sighed quietly in relief.

"I owe you one." Sun whispered in my ear.

"He's your what?!" Blake's mother raised her voice enough for all of us to hear. Before anything else would happen, the sound of a latch hitting the front door echoed.

"Darn it, I completely forgot about the meeting." Blake's father slammed his fist on the table lightly.

"Ghira." Blake's mother said.

"Give me a moment." He excused himself from the table and went to answer the door.

"Is everything ok?" Blake asked.

"Yes dear, just poor timing. He can reschedule, it's just been hard dealing with them lately." Her mother answered.

"Dealing with who?"

"The White Fang."

"What?" Both Sun and Blake stood in shock then ran towards the door.

I stood up too then started walking. "You stay here, I'd like to have a few words with you." Blake's mom ordered.

I went back and sat down. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No but I have a very important question to ask you. Do you love my daughter?" She looked at me with a calm expression but it was more intimidating than the father's.

"That must be why you had that outburst, she must've told you." I took a deep breath to soothe my nerves and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Yes I do. I have for almost a year now. I've been there for her through the worst of times and she's been there for me when I was going through trouble myself. I couldn't imagine anyone else I'd rather spend my time with than her. She is my first love and hopefully, the only one I will ever have in my life."

"Aww." She smiled. "I'm glad she found herself a wonderfully caring person while she was away."

"I'm even luckier for finding her." I told her as I yawned loudly. "Please excuse my yawning, I haven't slept at all for nearly two days and it is catching up to me. Do you mind if I were to sleep in for the day?"

"Of course not, follow me." She led me to a room and took out a mat from the closet then set it down for me. "If you need anything else, just ask."

"There's no need but thank you." I smiled. She closed the door before I yawned once more. I stretched my arms and set the alarm on my scroll before letting myself fall into the mat, falling asleep just a few short moments later.


	29. 29

Blake left to go speak to her dad, probably to catch up on things, which left me, Sun, and her mom in the same room where she was stuck with Sun and I sharing stories. "Haha! Seriously, he did that?!" I laughed.

"I'm telling you, Neptune was so out of it that day that he walked around the school in nothing but a towel covering him! Scarlet, Sage, and I agreed to let him figure it out on his own." Sun laughed. "Took him running into the headmaster by accident and the towel falling off for him to notice. It was so worth being electrocuted the next day." He said as Blake's mom got up and left the room. The both of us continued to talk for a couple minutes then he suddenly got up. "I forgot!"

"What'd you forget?" I asked him.

"Remember earlier today when I told you I saw that White Fang member with a mask. I gotta warn Blake."

"Sun, listen...as much as you want to tell her, she didn't come home to hear more about the White Fang. She came to get away from it all. To be home with her parents and it'd be best if we-" I was interrupted by a call from Jaune. Answering, he started out by rambling to the point I didn't understand what he said. "Slow down! What's going on?" I asked him.

"Come quick, he found us! We don't know how long we can continue going, just hurry!" He yelled then hung up.

"Crap." I got up and looked at Sun. "I gotta go."

"Something wrong?"

I nodded my head. "Jaune just called saying that they are being attacked." I said and sensed for their energies. Once pinpointing their location, I looked at Sun one last time. "If Blake asks, I went out for a long walk." I ran outside, flared my ki and shot into the sky at max speed. 'Damn, didn't think he'd find them this soon.' Soon as I arrived, I saw Tyrian cut Qrow with his tail. I flew down to them and punched Tyrian, sending him sliding back a few feet.

"Bout time you showed up." Qrow smiled then fell to his knee.

"Ruby, I want you to go regroup with the others and patch up Qrow, I'll deal with Tyrian from now on."

"Alright." She nodded then put Qrow's arm around her and walked back with him.

Hearing Tyrian laugh, I looked back at him. "Now this is a surprising turn of events. I was meant to get the girl but now you show up. They said you'd be a tough one to kill. Our goddess will be pleased knowing that I took care of the girl and you."

"I'm not taking any chances with you. You're better off running back to your goddess in one piece."

"You say that now but wait until I have you at my mercy, then you'll be singing a different tune." He smiled and vanished from my sight.

Tilting my head, his fist moved past my head and I jumped a bit to avoid his tail from sweeping my legs. Mid-jump, I dropkicked him back before springing onto my feet. He rolled back up and grunted in annoyance, charging towards me and swung his wrist blades madly. None of the strikes landed as I dodged each swing without much trouble. Raising my left arm to block the blades of his weapon and only getting a small cut across my left cheek, I struck his chest with an open palm. The wind was knocked out of him and he took a few steps back to breath.

Rubbing my thumb across the cut, I caught a glimpse of the blood plus the feeling of it running down my cheek. I then grabbed his arm and swung him around, letting go shortly after. Silence filled the air as debris fell from the building he was thrown into. I stood in the same spot, listening to where he could be. Hearing a footstep behind me, I opened my eyes and turned to punch him in the stomach. It was followed with an uppercut that sent him into the sky. I jumped after him to send him back towards the ground with a sledgehammer strike. He hit the ground with a large thud.

"As I said earlier, you're better off returning to your goddess while you can still walk. I heavily suggest that you take that offer." I said, descending to the ground.

He stood up and shook in excitement. "As if, even if I have my limbs shattered, it'll all be worth it to see that look that Cinder will have on her face. It'll bring me great joy for her to know that I killed her little s-" I stopped him from revealing that little secret by shooting a slow ki blast that he dodged and used that time to get behind him, holding him in a sleeper hold and making sure to grab the end of his tail with mine as a precautionary measure.

"Now I'm gonna tell you for the third time. Return to your goddess and don't come back. What do you say?" I asked, tightening my hold.

"S-Screw you!" He moved his arms back towards both sides of my stomach and shot an entire magazine's worth of bullets that only bounced off of me.

"I tried being nice." Using the arm that wasn't around his neck, I punched his back and grabbed his tail to slam him onto the ground five times then stomped on his wrist, shattering it and the weapon then repeated that action on his other wrist. He shrieked in pain with his tail flailing in response. I crouched next to him and sighed. "Look at yourself, groveling in pain. Normally I wouldn't do this kind of stuff to anyone, not even an enemy but as time taught me, you must show no mercy or you'd be doomed from the start. This is the final time I will tell you, run back to your goddess and this isn't a suggestion, it is a demand." I stood up and walked away.

At the last moment I sensed something and left an afterimage that was penetrated by his tail. I reappeared behind him and cut off his tail, making him jump back and shake in pain. "You...You bastard!" He yelled.

Taking a single step and vanishing, I appeared close to him with my middle and index finger of my left hand extended, touching his chest. "Be lucky that's the only thing I cut off. Tell your goddess that if she sends someone else after Ruby or anyone else I know, your comrades and eventually she, will find out first-hand the power far beyond that of a maiden." One inch was all I needed because upon ramming my fist into his chest, the force of the impact sent him sailing in the air. I walked back to everyone and saw them covering up Qrow's wound with bandages.

"Damn kid, that was quite the show. It's scary to see how strong you've become." He smiled and coughed. "So glad that you're on our side."

"I'm just glad Jaune called me, you all okay?"

"We are now, thanks to you." Jaune smiled.

"Guessing by how well you did against him, your training proved to be a very successful effort." Ren said. "We all struggled yet you made it seem so easy."

Nora walked over to me and examined me. "You've gotten taller and…" She grabbed a couple of my beard hairs and tugged on it, getting a small grunt of pain out of me then started feeling for muscles. "Yep, those are totally real. Time has done well for you my friend." She smiled.

I smiled back to her. "Thanks, and you've all grown as well. I can sense that you're all stronger than the last time we saw each other plus the different outfits and Ren's hair is basically down to his back."

"I asked if I could give him a haircut but he said no every time." She glared at him.

"As much faith as I usually have in you, I will not let you anywhere near my head with scissors."

"Oh just because of that one time. Why I oughta..." She shook her fist at him, getting a laugh out of Pyrrha.

I looked over to Ruby and noticed her just staring at me. I waved my hand in front of her and caught her attention. "You ok?"

"Oh uh yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for helping us out." She smiled with a little redness in her cheeks.

"Anytime. Well I'd better be heading back to Menagerie to see if Sun got himself into trouble again...Actually before I go, I'd like to know one thing. Qrow, I need you to tell me about this goddess."

"In order to explain that, I have to get these kids up to speed with everything." Qrow started by telling the story of the maidens and also told them how much truth there was to the story.

After he finished and things went silent, he took another drink from his flask. "Really, no questions?" He asked them.

"Of course we have questions." Jaune was the first to answer. "This is just...a lot to take in."

Qrow sighed. "Sure...of course."

"So these…" Ruby took her turn to speak. "maidens...they're powerful fighters that don't need dust to use magic."

"Yeah"

"And there four of them?"

"Yep, always."

"Which means whenever one of them dies, the power transfers to someone, a female, they care about?" Ren asked.

"Whoever was in their thoughts last. Important distinction. Best option it's someone we can trust. Regardless, their souls become one in a way."

"And that's what you were trying to do with Pyrrha. The night the tower fell, you were trying to turn her into one of them." Jaune gave Qrow a displeased look.

"The previous fall maiden Amber had been attacked. She was young, inexperienced and her assailant who we now know as Cinder, somehow managed to steal some of her power but not all of it. We were afraid that if we didn't do something, the rest would go to her as well."

"So you forced it on Pyrrha."

"We didn-"

"Jaune." Pyrrha said while looking at the ground. "It wasn't forced on me. Idris was there with me and we even discussed it with one another. It was my choice and my choice alone."

"You knew about it?" He asked me and I nodded. "Then why weren't you there with us? You could've stopped Cinder before she would've taken the rest of the maiden's power."

"Because there were more important things."

"What could've been more important than stopping a terrible person from becoming a full maiden?" I didn't bother to answer him and Jaune didn't say anything else as he took a small walk away from us.

Couple moments of silence later, Ruby decided to talk. "That guy...Tyrian...Idris told me that he was hunting me for some reason. What did he mean by that?" Ruby asked.

"I told you having silver eyes was a rare trait and the fact that you were someone who has them seems to have upset some very powerful people. Not many people know about the silver eyes but those that do aren't very happy that one has surfaced. That's why I've been keeping an eye on you, wanted to make sure you were safe." He then looked at Jaune for a bit. "All of you. Although it's safe to say that Idris over here upset them even more with how he manhandled Cinder who had full control of the Fall Maiden's power."

"Well then why not just travel with us? It seems that would've been way easier." She said.

"He was using you as bait." Jaune bluntly stated.

"Look, I wouldn't put it like that, it's complicated." Qrow said.

Jaune turned towards us. "What is all of this? Ruby's being hunted, schools are being attacked, all for what? What is the point of all of this? Will you just tell us what's going on?" He raised his voice.

Qrow sighed. "Will you just sit down, you're stressing me out kid." He suggested. "Not many people are super religious these days. This world's been around for a long time. Long enough that people have created dozens of gods. But if you believe Ozpin, two of them are actually real. They were brothers, the older sibling, the god of light, found joy in creating life meanwhile the younger brother, the god of darkness spent his time creating forces of destruction. As you can imagine, both had pretty different ideas on how things would go. The older one would spend his days creating water, plants, wildlife and at night…" He trailed off to look at me.

"His brother would do what he can to destroy it which started drought, fires, and famine right?"

"Correct. Thing is, life always returned. So one night, the younger brother went and made something, something that shared his innate desire to destroy anything and everything."

"The creatures of grimm." Pyrrha responded.

"You guessed it. The older brother had finally had enough. Knowing that their feud would last like this forever, he proposed that they make one final creation...together. Something they could both be proud of, their masterpiece. The younger brother agreed. This last great creation would be given the power to both create and destroy. It would be given the gift of knowledge so it can learn about itself and the world around it. And most importantly, it would be given the power to choose, to have free will to take everything it had learned and decide which path to follow. The path of light or the path of darkness. And that is how humanity came to be."

"But...what does that have to do with us?" Ren asked.

"Well that's the kicker. See the four gifts to mankind, knowledge, creation, destruction, and choice, aren't just metaphorical. Each of them exists in a physical form left behind by the gods before they abandoned Remnant and each of them was extraordinarily powerful. If someone were to collect all four, they'd be able to change the world and that's exactly what the enemy wants. The huntsman academies were created to train generations of humanity's protectors but they also serve another purpose, guarding the relics. When Ozpin's predecessor founded the schools, he built them around the relics to act as a fortress. Not only would they be easier to defend, but they would be constantly surrounded by trained warriors. They hoped that hiding the relics would keep mankind from using them against itself. And of course keeping them out of her reach. So yeah, there's that."

"Her...you mean Salem." said Ruby.

"That's right. Not much is known about her and quite frankly, that's not what matters. What matters right now is that she wants the relics and if she gets them, it's not gonna end well."

"Alright, so let's say that we believe all this." Jaune spoke. "There really is this crazy evil being behind these attacks, not just some thugs trying to become powerful. Why doesn't the world now? Why isn't Atlas going after them, or Mistral?"

"And why aren't we more of a hurry to get to Haven? Shouldn't we be giving them a message? What if they're next?" Nora asked.

"They know what happened Nora. If they were to be attacked, they would be prepared to fight back so the same doesn't happen to them." Pyrrha told her. "What happened with Beacon was the result of months of planning. It'll take another couple of months for an attack like that anywhere else."

"And to answer your question." Qrow pointed to Jaune. "It's the same reason we keep quiet about the maidens. If the whole world knew the relics, about Salem, it would be chaos. We'd have another great war in our hands and this time, you'd have to fight. Look...I had the same questions too. But ol' Ozpin put his foot down. We can't cause a panic." He said what Ozpin told him and laughed. "I can't tell you how many times I heard that. Salem's smart, she works from the shadows, using others to get what she wants. So when it comes time to place the blame, you can only point at each other. She's trying to divide us, humanity and so far she's done a pretty damn good job." He sighed afterwards.

"Alright. So what should we do?"

"Hehe, I don't really know. Ozpin has put a lot of trust into the headmasters. Like I said, the schools are an important part of stopping Salem. Atlas is gonna be on high alert after the last attack and Vacuo is, well Vacuo. It'll be hard to hire thieves and scoundrels to fight other thieves and scoundrels. Take that, add in the fact that Cinder and her crew claim to be from Haven, I think that's likely their next target. So we're on our way to the headmaster, haven't heard from him in a while, even before the attack. I'm hoping he has the answers." He looked at each of us and started walking. "Alright, I think it's time that we find a nice spot to stay low and sleep."

"Uncle Qrow?" Ruby called out.

"Yeah?"

"This is a lot to take in and it all sounds crazy but...I'm willing to do whatever I can to help. Because I trust you. But why couldn't you trust me? Why couldn't you just travel with us instead all of this secrecy and and."

"Look, this has nothing to do with trust. I...It's a long story."

"Seriously, now you're tired of telling us stories?" Nora asked.

"You know the crows are a sign of bad luck. Old superstition but it's how I got my name. You see, some people can absorb electricity and some people can burst into rose petals. Or even have skills beyond normal capability or some people are just born unlucky. My semblance...isn't like most. It's not exactly something I do. It's always there whether I like it or not. I bring misfortune." He laughed in a low tone. "I guess you can call me a bad luck charm. Comes in real handy when fighting an enemy but it makes it a little hard on friends and family."

Jaune crossed his arms. "Well you are just a really big bundle of help aren't you?"

"Yeah." Qrow responded, beginning to walk.

"Where are you going?" Ren asked.

"Finding a place to sleep."

"There's nothing else you wanna tell us?" Ruby asked, trying to see if there was more to the story as a crow landed on a tree branch nearby.

"Not tonight." He said, continuing to walk.

I sighed. "Ruby, can I talk to you privately?" She nodded as we walked away from them. Reaching into my right pocket, I took out a small black sack and reached my hand in there. "These are meant for use only when it is extremely necessary." I took out a few things and handed it to her.

She opened her hand to see what I gave her. "What are six green beans gonna do?"

"These are more than just beans. These are senzu beans. I was given this as a birthday gift by my mentor. I was given ten but I gave you six. One for each of you. Reason why I'm giving you this is because the stakes have been raised and I may not be able to get there in time the next time you all are in trouble. Each bean is capable of healing any wound instantaneously no matter how severe. Cutting one in half will not change its effect so I suggest you do that to each one once you have time. You guys be safe and see ya later."

"Wait, I want you to tell me something. When Tyrion was talking about Cinder, I thought she was dead. What really happened in your battle with her because you told us all that she was gone?"

I sighed. "I was hoping you didn't catch that…" I looked her straight in the eyes. "Believe it or not, she wasn't always evil. There was a time when she was very caring and nurturing. Around the time she found me to be exact."

"What do you mean?"

"Ruby...Cinder is my mother...My real mother."

She took a few steps back and put her hand on her mouth. "That's why she's alive."

"Yeah...She left when I was young and the person she left me with who I now call my grandmother did something to my memories to make me forget about her. I kept it secret because it's not exactly something you bring up in conversation. You think everyone will accept that, knowing that it was her fault that Beacon fell? That my mother could've killed Pyrrha and had I not been strong enough, even me?"

"Does anyone else know?"

I shook my head. "I introduced her to Weiss who wasn't around when I told you all about my fight with Cinder, purposefully leaving out the bad parts. I know I'm only delaying the inevitable and that everyone will eventually find out the truth but until then, I don't want to make matters worse for everyone so I need you to promise me that you won't say anything."

"I uh…"

"Please Ruby...it is all I am asking of you."

After some thought, she nodded her head and smiled. "I promise not to say anything but I want you to promise me that you'll tell Blake. She is your girlfriend after all and she wouldn't want you keeping stuff from her."

I smiled, turned my back to her and flared my ki. "Hopefully we meet again under better circumstances." With that being said, I shot into the sky, on my way back to Menagerie.


	30. 30

On the flight back to Menagerie I stopped mid-flight when an energy signal shot up. It felt like Cinder's but before I could get a good feel of it, it disappeared from my senses. "Probably imagining things. Haven't been able to sense it ever since she left so there is no reason as to why I should be able to now or even catch a glimpse of it. I hope Sun was able to convince Blake that I really did just step out but just in case…" I abruptly flew right into the sea and came back out with a fish big enough to feed a small village. "This should do the trick although I wonder if it'll be kind of insulting to bring only this fish since her parents are both part cat. Either way, they can think of this as payback for letting me stay since day one."

Picking up the pace, I flew at twice my normal speed and arrived in less than five minutes. I landed in front of the house and walked up to the door, only knocking twice. Blake's mom opened the door then had a surprised expression towards what I brought back. "That is a really big fish."

I smiled. "Sorry if I was gone longer than I should've, as you can see, this little guy gave quite a bit of a struggle. Anything happen during my time away?"

Her look of surprise turned into one of slight sadness and worry. "Follow me." I set the fish down inside and she led me to the second floor that I knew was Blake's father's office. There, I heard crying that belonged to Blake and walking in, I could see why. I saw Sun on the couch laid there unconscious, shirtless, and with a bloody patch on the left side of his chest with Blake and her father on the other couch.

Her father looked at me, gave an angry look and walked up to me. "I am holding you accountable for this and I trust that you will fix it." Those were his words to me before leaving with Blake's mother.

I walked up to Blake and kneeled in front of her. "Blake, I need you to tell me what happened. Who did this?" I asked. She didn't say a word but jumped onto me, crying into my chest.

"Where were you?!" She said with a muffled voice, hitting my chest with both of her fists. "And don't tell me that you were just out for a bit! You would've sensed that something was wrong and came to help as fast as you could!"

I sighed and rested my chin on the top of her head. "I'm sorry for coming back so late. Something really important came up and I had to leave Menagerie. Had I known something was gonna happen, I would've came back much faster."

She stifled a sob and wiped the tears from her face. "What was so important that you had to leave?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow Blake but for now, you need to get some rest."

 _ **Some time later**_

Lugging two giant barrels full of fish over my shoulders, I set it down in front of me and smiled. "How much will this get me?"

"I'd say around a thousand lien although I only have seven hundred since business has been slow lately." The man next to me scratched his head.

"Don't worry Sal, just hand over the seven then you can pay me the other three when you can. How's the family been?"

"The missus has been chomping on my neck for the day we get to travel to visit our kids over at Vacuo again. I tell her that they'll be fine but she keeps insisting on going, says that she senses that they miss her and want to see her again. Seems more like she misses them more than they miss her." He said, handing me the money. "I've heard that you have been doing a lot of jobs around Menagerie for a while now and I'm sure you got a lot of lien in your pocket, mind telling me what you're saving up for?"

"Well I've been enjoying it here so much that I've been thinking of buying some land here for the future and settle down. Plus some of that money is to pay off the Belladonnas for letting me stay with them and what I needed to eat."

"Your stomach is a bottomless pit my friend. Q is still trying to make sure that the next time you visit his restaurant, there will be enough to make sure you are full and that there will be enough for everyone else too."

"Can't help myself, the man knows how to cook plus it really helps him that I'm his biggest payer so it is a mutual benefit just like how I'm your best supplier. I better be heading back now, see you later Sal."

"See ya kid." He smiled.

Taking my time walking back, I started humming to a beat. "I'm hooked on a feeling~" I sang softly. "I'm high on believing~" I stopped myself from going any further and hummed the rest of the way since I didn't want to get carried away.

Feeling something headed towards me, my tail unwrapped from my waist and caught what I now know was a soccer ball. "Sorry about that! Can you pass it back?" A young boy asked. I nodded and tossed it into the air before smacking it back to them with my tail then continued walking.

I hiked up the steps, knocked on the door and was let in by Kali. "You know you don't have to knock every time you come back. You've been here long enough that you don't need to."

"I know but it just seems like the appropriate thing to do and kind of a habit. Sun up yet?"

"Not yet although I'm sure that he will soon."

"That's good." I said and went back out the door. Floating over to the roof of the house, I sat down and sensed for Cinder's energy again. 'Seriously, where are you? You have to be somewhere in this world.' My time was cut short when I heard a loud thud. I slid down the roof and hung upside down, seeing Kali on top of a fallen door and Ghira with a look of disappointment.

My gaze turned to Sun who was awake. "Mornin' sleeping beauty." I jumped from my current position onto the railing in front them to see a serious look on Ghira's face, more serious as usual. "Something come up?"

He nodded. "Well the suspicions my daughter had were true. The White Fang plan on doing the same to Haven as they did to Beacon."

"You're serious?" asked Sun.

"Alright then." I looked over to Blake and Sun with a smile. "Guess I'm gonna need to train both of you before we go and stop them in their tracks."

"You say it as if it an easy task." said Ghira. "What allows a person like yourself to speak in that manner?"

"Trust me dad, I've felt him go all out on two different occasions but he was much stronger the second time." said Blake.

"Yeah like crazy strong." Sun agreed. "It was like he was awesome and terrifying at the same time because it was shaking all of Beacon."

"I can show you if you'd like Mr. Belladonna although we'd have to go somewhere far from here." I pointed behind me to the mountain range.

"Can't say that I'm not intrigued myself." said Kali. "I mean you did see his fight in the second round of the tournament."

Ghira nodded. "Hmm fine, show me how strong you really are." And from there, the five of us walked towards the mountains and found a good secluded spot.

I took in a deep breath for a start and separated myself from them. "So might as well start with something easy. Blake, I want you to shoot me. Make sure to use the full clip."

"Okay." She pulled out her weapon and shifted it to the pistol variant. "Get ready." With each pull of the trigger, I moved my left hand to catch every bullet that was sent my way and when her clip had been exhausted, I opened my hand and let the bullets fall to the ground.

"So how was that?" I asked her parents.

Kali clapped and smiled meanwhile Ghira tried to look unimpressed. "I've seen many others do that before." He said.

"Well I got two more things to show you." I walked towards a boulder the size of their home and lifted it over my head then threw it into the air. Once it was high enough, I shot a finger beam to it and blew it to pieces

With Kali clapping again, Ghira still tried to look unimpressed. "If this is what you have then you are no match for the White Fang, what you have shown me can be done through semblances which can't compare to their firepower if outnumbered."

I smiled. "You're gonna love this then, trust me. What you are seeing now is my normal state." My hair spiked itself and a yellow aura surrounded me on top of my hair and tail turning yellow along with my eyes becoming emerald. "This is a Super Saiyan...and this." I transformed once more, feeling the bio-electricity spark around me. "This is what is known as a Super Saiyan that has ascended past a Super Saiyan or you can just call this a Super Saiyan Two."

He grunted. "What a useless trick. Your appearance changed so what?"

"Just wait…" I created a barrier around them and smiled. "and this…" I clenched my fists and slowly started raising my power level. "is to go even further beyond!" Raising my voice, I started gathering more power as gusts of wind were created that tore through any nearby rocks and boulders. The floor cracked below me and chunks of the ground rose as well. Reaching the peak of Super Saiyan Two, I took in one more deep breath. "Kaioken... times twenty!" My yellow aura flared, growing a couple feet in height and the electricity intensified as the red aura stacked itself underneath it and my strength grew exponentially, blowing everything around me away. I tried to maintain that level of strength but felt a strain appearing fast. Steam was leaking from my body and before the strain could become any bigger, I stopped the power flow and reverted back to normal. The wind calmed, all chunks of the ground fell and crumbled and barrier had fallen. I knelt on one knee and tried to catch my breath. 'It should've lasted longer but since I haven't been training as much, I must've been getting soft.'

"Dude that was freaking incredible!" Sun yelled as he ran up to me. "It felt like the entire island was shaking! The White Fang doesn't a chance against you!"

After catching my breath, I got up and smiled at him. "Well I had to increase the theatrics so you can feel the power exerted outward due to you all not being able to sense energy. Although if you were to actually sense how much power I'm packing, you'd see that I wouldn't even need to transform. What do you think Blake?" I looked towards her and her parents and they all seemed astonished.

"So much power…" She trailed off.

"Our little girl picked quite the guy didn't she Ghira." Her mom said.

"Yes she did…An extremely powerful one at that…and you say that you can teach Sun and Blake to have that power?"

"Using ki and the kaioken, yes. Anyone can learn it." I smiled and crossed my arms. "What nobody can learn is the transformations. That is a story for another time for whenever you'd like to hear it."

 _ **Few days later**_

Blake's father was pacing back and forth, no doubt steadying his nerves. We could all hear the chattering of the crowd outside and to be safe, I sensed all the energies around and could only find one that had some bad intent but it was nothing I couldn't handle should the need to interfere be created.

He sighed as Kali put her hand on his shoulder. "Are you ready?"

"Yes...It won't be easy for the people to hear but the truth often isn't. I know they'll do the right thing." He said.

Blake put her hand on his other shoulder then Sun came in and put his hand on his back. "You got this."

Ghira walked to the front door and opened it, letting us all see the growing crowd. We walked down the steps, to the wooden stage as he took his spot in front of the podium. Regular people to reporter to guards, all were here to hear what he had to say. With a raise of his hand, the chatter of the crowd grew silent. "Thank you all for assembling here. I wanted to take time to address some of the rumors that have been circulating around our island. I believe it is important for the people of the territory to understand the truth. No matter how you feel about the human race, I think we can agree that the event now known as the fall of Beacon was a tragedy. A tragedy that will set both man and faunus kind back. While the main aggressor is still unknown, we do have official confirmation that Adam Taurus, the leader of a powerful splinter group working inside the White Fang was partially responsible for these attack."

'If only they knew…'

"His actions not only tarnish the reputation of an organization originally created to bring peace and equality to all, but to our entire race. With each day that this man remains unpunished, it becomes increasingly difficult to condemn those who look down upon us." The crowd began to chatter with themselves but Ghira raised his hand again to silence them. "Recently a spy from that same splinter group set their sights on this very home. My own daughter Blake and her friend did their very best to apprehend this individual. While they were unsuccessful after being physically assaulted and seriously injured, they were successful at attaining the assailant's scroll." He reached into his coat and took out the device. "With this we have been able to ascertain that Adam Taurus has plans to overthrow the leader of the White Fang, Sienna Khan and take over the reigns himself."

Those words riled up the people in the crowd. "His radical plans do not stop there, the documents on this scroll proclaim the next target to be Haven Academy and it's attached CCT tower. Their plan is to strike on the last full moon before the beginning of the fall semester, roughly two months from today. I have sent my swiftest messenger to the government of Mistral but I believe we have a greater responsibility...My relationship with the White Fang has been..an interesting one. Years ago I led the organization to try and create a world where I and any faunus who wished, can walk alongside the human race. And while I believe we have made great strides towards this goal, it made clear to me that the people both in and out of the White Fang wanted faster results so I stepped down, and Sienna Khan was appointed as my successor. It's true that I don't condone many of her methods but what I do condone is what Sienna fights for. The idea that the humans and faunus are and should be equal. Adam Taurus does not seem to have that goal in mind. What he has done, benefits no one but himself."

The crowd has some noise but silenced themselves. "I think it's time that the faunus showed the world that we are equals. It's time we snuff out this splinter group and restore the White Fang to what it once was!" He raised his voice and the crowd started letting out sound of agreement. "To do this, I think the answer is clear! We must go to Haven and protect it at all cost!" The roar of the crowd became small murmurs at what was said. "Before we proceed any further, I'd like to invite my daughter to come and share her story not only as a former member of the White Fang but also as a survivor of the Fall of Beacon."

Ghira moved aside to let Blake walk up to the podium. "You can do this." He told her.

"Traitors!" Someone yelled out as a cloak was thrown into the air, showing a girl that wore the mask of the White Fang on her face.

"Ilia." Sun muttered.

"Cowards. After everything the humans have done to us...Everything they have put us through! You're asking us to help them?!"

Ghira raised his hands. "I know we haven't been treated fairly."

"Where was their help when the dust companies treated our people like slaves? Where was their help when kingdoms hunted faunus just for being who they are? Where was their help when my parents were killed in a dust mine? Where?!"

"Young lady, progress takes patience and cooperation." While Ghira spoked, I noticed that Sun was about to step down the podium. Knowing what he wanted to do, I placed my hand on his shoulder and shook my head.

"The Belladonnas are the worst kind of faunus. They want us to work with the same people who are trying to hold us down! If truly, truly want to help your people, now is the time to support Adam, not the Belladonnas. He will bring about the future you deserve and if you are unwilling to fight, know that the White Fang will do it for you!"

"You never were there during the Fall of Beacon were you?" I walked to the edge of the podium and jumped down to the ground, walking towards her. "You were never there to see the atrocities Vale endured. The amount of lives lost. All joy was gone, replaced with fear as grimm, Atlas tech, and even the White Fang flooded the city and Beacon. Sun, Blake, and I saw all the people we helped and those we weren't able to save. Men...women...children...human and faunus. Nobody had to die that day, not the innocent, not the people I knew, and especially not my little sister who was killed by the same man you're preaching about!" I clenched my fists, letting some of my ki flow out as small pebbles rose from the ground.

"H-"

My aura had manifested itself and started growing the closer I got to her. "A young dog faunus by the age of twelve who was the only survivor of her village due to a grimm attack. I took her in after rescuing her and we became like brother and sister. She wanted to be a huntress in order to prevent tragedies like hers from happening to someone else but her final moments were her lying on the ground, bleeding out and there was nothing I could do except comfort her. Does that sound like the same person you talk about? One who'll murder children?"

She got a scared look in her eyes and took a few steps back. "I-"

"Tell him that if he really is planning an attack on Haven or even thinks of hurting the Belladonnas, that I'll find him and trust me, there will be nothing left of him once I do." I flashed the eyes of a Super Saiyan for a split second and saw her scared look grow into one of fear as she ran away as fast as she could. I sighed, letting my power level balance itself out as I looked around at the crowd, seeing some looks of fear on them as well. I felt a hand grab mine and I looked beside me to see that it was Blake's. "I'm...sorry if I got out of hand there."

"Don't apologize, you haven't done anything wrong, let's just go back inside, besides…" She smiled as we started walking past the podium and up the steps. "I think you just stole my thunder with that speech of your own."


	31. 31

Alright, this story has been fully updated after so long although I still have not gone to write the rest for Volume 5 and I'm not sure when I will get to it since I've been getting busy lately but for those that have been liking this fanfic, I will do my best to get it done. - R


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